Keep Britain Tidy Vintage Posters

Just a friendly reminder to Keep Britain Tidy.

Keep Britain Tidy is an anti-litter campaign run by the Keep Britain Tidy charity. They've been using the "Keep Britain Tidy" tagline for almost 50 years and still use it today.

I love these vintage Keep Britain Tidy posters

And this more modern take from Banksy.

Mid-Century London Map

If you're lucky enough to be in London for the Olympics, this map probably won't be any help. But if you love mid-century London and mid-century illustration, this is the map for you.

Mid-Century Octopus

There's something so lovely about this simple, little octopus illustration. It originally comes from a Japanese matchbook.

Mid-Century Design of Machinery Magazine

I recently stumbled across some great mid-century designs on the cover of Machinery magazine.

I love the clean simple look of these vintage magazine covers. I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for more Machinery magazines.

Sharing the Mid-Century Love

Apparently, my blog is lovely. Or at least lovely enough for Mid-Century Modern Love to nomiate me for the One Lovely Blog Award.

With the One Lovely Blog Award you're supposed to share seven unknown things about yourself and then nominate other blogs. Well, here's a handy-dandy list of all the mid-century blogs I would nominate. 

So, on to the seven things, but I'm going to twist it a little bit. Since Mad for Mid-Century isn't really about me, I'm going to share seven things you probably don't know about me and seven things you might not know about Mad for Mid-Century.

Seven things about me

1) Five years ago, my wife and I made a five-year plan to move to London before the Olympics.

2) Then she opened a successful graphic design agency in Austin.

3) And I found a copywriting job in Austin that I really like.

4) And we had a kid.

5) So the plan changed, we're going to stay in Austin for at least the next 20 years and retire to London.

6) I purposefully don't mention the name or gender of my kid online because I think it should be up to them if/when they create their online presence.

7) I can grow a decent beard in about a week. A full mountain-man beard takes a little over two weeks.

Seven things about Mad for Mid-Century

1) The original name for Mad for Mid-Century was Our Austin Home because it started as an online to-do list for our mid-century ranch in Austin.

2) When I changed the name, Mad for Mid-Century almost became Mid-Century Minute because I wanted every post to able to be read in a few minutes.

3) I purposefully left the hyphen out of mid-century in the URL of Mad for Mid-Century (www.madformidcentury.com) because I thought it'd be too hard to remember, but I use a hyphen everywhere else.

4) The stars in the header of Mad for Mid-Century were inspired by the Pittsburgh Steelers logo. I'm not a Steelers fan, I just thought it was a great mid-century logo. And one easy enough that I could recreate the look with my very basic design skills.

5) I try to post every weekday.

6) I usually write posts on over lunch. If don't write a post, it usually means I didn't have lunch that day.

7) I've started and killed more blogs than I can remember; the number is probably somewhere close to two dozen. Mad for Mid-Century is the first blog that I've had any audience outside of friends and family, and a few random internet people. (Thanks for being one of those readers.)

Vintage Ad: Room for a Red Head

I'm married to a red head and I've learned a few things about them over the years. 1) They don't buy things that are pink. 2) They don't wear bright red lipstick. That said, I love the idea that you would create an entire room based around your look/coloring. It's like you're part of the room/house. I would also love to get my "Personal Color Horoscope," but I'm guessing that little mail away doesn't work anymore.

Mid-Century Modern Idea Homes

This September 1958 cover of Better Homes and Garden has some gorgeous illustrations of mid-century homes, done by Jan Balet. All of these "idea homes of the year" have an amazing design and I really like the blue house/yellow door mid-century modern color palette. Plus, the design on that station wagon is amazing.


I wish I could find a copy so I could check out the "New interior colors." Plus, that "What does a woman do all day?" article has to be good for a laugh.

Mid-Century Artist: Roderic Barrett

I'll be honest, I'm not that into mid-century art. As much as I love most mid-century design, mid-century art just doesn't strike a cord. And I'm OK with that for two reasons: 1) With art, I don't think there's a wrong answer; if you like it, then it doesn't matter what other people think and 2) I'm perfectly happy hanging modern, lowbrow art next to my mid-century furniture.

That said, MID-CENTURIA introduced me to mid-century artist Roderic Barrett and I instantly wanted to share his work so others could love it as much as I do (assuming it's your thing).

Vintage Herman Miller Ad

This is my new favorite vintage ad. I love the use of the Herman Miller logo to separate and encapsulate all of the chairs.

Beatrice West and Mid-Century Color Palettes

I found out what the PM for this exterior mid-century color palette stands for: Popular Mechanics. The October 1955 issue of Popular Mechanics had a "Color Tips for Your House" article.

The article includes an interview with Beatrice West and other color stylists about mid-century modern color palettes. 

The entire 50-page home section is definitely worth flipping though.

The Mid-Century Modern Design of Bond

If you happen to be in London in the next few month's, you should check out the Barbican. They're celebrating 50 years of James Bond films, starting with the 1962 Dr. No, by taking a look inside the modern design, style and fashion of the Bond films.



Designing 007 will explore the costumes, cars, gadgets, sets and locations, special effects, and graphic design of the Bond films. Plus, there's a martini bar for extra authenticity.

Designing 007 runs from July 6, 2012 to September 5, 2012.

Mid-Century Purses by Enid Collins of Texas

I did a little vintage shopping in Austin and ran across some very interesting mid-century purses: Enid Collins purses.

Enid Collins created some of the most interesting mid-century purse and handbag designs I've ever seen.

Owner and designer at Collins of Texas, Enid Collins opened shop in 1946, producing wooden box purses and large canvas purses that were hand decorated with rhinestones and paint. Enid Collins and company went on to design and produce leather handbags for clients like Neiman Marcus, and in 1970 Enid Collins sold Collins of Texas to the Tandy Leather Corporation.

As someone who was friends with the girls who carried lunch boxes as purses back in my school days, there's something that warms my heart to see wood box purses. And the vintage design of these mid-century purses is perfect for anyone dressing the look.

For tips on how to spot an Enid Collins purse, check out this site.

Mid-Century Modern Toys

We did a little shopping at Toy Joy over the weekend. While we didn't buy the whole store, like my little one would have liked, we did see some really neat mid-century modern toys.

Some of the mid-century modern toys that stood out were:

Kid O Go Car

Kid O Stack and Nest Cups

Kid O Floating Ducks

Green Toys Stacker

Green Toys Mini Fastback Set

And the Kid O Airplane, which would be a great for toy or decoration piece in a travel-themed nursery.