The Modern Home
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The British Industries- Fair
Ix is impossible to visa the British Industries Fair and remain . despondent. We may have--been-overspending our income ;
■ we may have lost inueltof clur. trade ; we- may still be treating death duties as the golden eggs of a goose that will never die : but, with sir& evidence of wealth around WS and, better still, of enterprise and resolute determination, our markets seem not so much lost as mislaid. Everywhere one en- ' counters a feeling Of optimism, due, perhaps, is some degree to the new protertivedoties, but even more to confidence in the
quality of our wares* W.do make things well—and thia year the prices are absurdly low. As usual, the best designs are ' to be found among those things- made for utility only : when anything further is attempted one can seldom approve whole- heartedly of the result. The designer has rarely the restraint to let the product. express its own beauty by its purpose, its material and the way in which it is made,--he must stick on some extraneous ornament. It is strange that a nation whose fault it is,,to_ be rather ton reserved, in its personal conduct should be so flatulent in its commercial art.
Furniture-occupies the largest- section at Olympia. Would that the pseudo-modernisin of the Empire. Hall had gone so far "(tete arrange the severaLfragments.of stsiresse somewhere near each other. One walks an unnecessary hundred yards in getting from the first to the third floor—but perhaps the true modernist should always wait for a lift. Empire- timbers- are very slowly finding their way into commercial use. It was pleasant to find a well-designed modem desk iir Australian Silky Oak shown by an East' End firm. It was good news, too, to learn that the Bath cabinet makers, who show several suites of the quality that has made their name, have now gone into the lower priced market. This should be' of interest to the many readers who write to ask where they can get well- designed modern furniture at a well-designed price. For the rest, there is some progress towards a desirable simplification— but modernism is not achieved' by just veneering a carcass in extravagant cubist patterns,as many firms seem.to think. And has not the time nearly come for French polish to be put on the retired list and the infinitely more beautiful wax finish to be put into commission again ? I put this question- to one firm and, while agreeing that wax shows up all the beauty of the wood that shellac obliterates, they said that at present few trade buyers could be persuaded to take it. Always the same story—the buyers opposing the- less familiar though better thing. I had hoped for a wider selection of metal' furniture, since there are great developments in this line taking place in the country at present (witness the new showrooms of Practical Equipment Limited, recently opened in Henrietta Street, which are given up entirely- to it) : but the- only interesting exhibit I found was by Aeromet on the LIMA floor of the Empire-Hull; who show several beds, chairs, tables and lampstands.. Instead of the usual circular section they use tube of oval section which gives a much more solid appearance. The fact that this tubing can only be bent easily in one dimension means that they have to do more welding ; but the results are• certainly good to look at and might easily please' those who find the other steel furniture rather " spidery." Prices are by no means high. For the rest, it should no• doubt be gratifying to note that one can obtain metal bedsteads which look exactly as if they were made of walnut, mahogany, or oak. It would be a pretty thought to make some simulating crocheted wool—they would look warmer.
China and glass occupy the ground floor of the Empire Hall. One hopes that the absence of several' of the larger firms' can be ascribed to a surfeit of orders. That would be a Good Thing. A comparatively new firm,. the Susie Cooper Pottery, makes a good showing—certainly as consistently good as any in the section. In ceramics, too, the modem note is creeping in at. an encouraging pace. It was interesting to learn that
the first step of the buying public when it revolts from over- ornamentation and cheap naturalistic or imitative design is straight to the barbarity of jazz-cum-cubism. Any move- ment at all is to be welcomed ; but one hopes that when it tires of this—as it surely must do in no long time—it will come to an appreciation of the restrained subtleties of really good modern design. James Powell and Sons show some lovely glass, including a new rose colour and a most attractive bluish-black. Admirers of Swedish and Czecho-Slovaldan engraved glass should see what London can do in this way on the Stand of the Gray-Stan Glass Company.
Plastics, the trade term for those -innumerable moulded articles such as wireless-knobs, handles, unbreakable cups, telephone parts—in fact, almost anything that we cannot eat-- are undoubtedly the trade of the moment. The output is said to have multiplied ten times in less than three years, and new applications arc being exploited every day. Apart from a nasty outbreak of polychromatic marbled effects, articles moulded in composition are generally good to look at— possibly because of the expense of engraving superfluous ornament in the moulds. An interesting development is the production of tiles in this ware. They are very light, and their warmer surface will cause less condensation than do ceramic tiles. One type is ingeniously adapted by a system of interlocking lugs to be safely fastened to the walls with panel pins—but probably their ultimate application will be in the form of large sheets, since there is no reason to make them in small units:
Among " gadgets," the rotary toothbrush is easily the most amusing (Stand D. 143). This consists of a small water-motor which clips on any tap, and a flexible drive terminating in a tiny brush. The force of water causes this to rotate rapidly, and there is no doubt that those who prefer to keep their arm muscles for better purposes will find it a great labour- saver. It seems probable that its rotary action does clean teeth more efficiently than that of the old-fashioned hand- driven model ; and it has its advantages for the young—no small boy could resist using it. It is well-made and chromium- plated. Brushes are replaceable. For my own part, it reminded me overmuch of the dentist's drill. The fastidious will appreciate a machine which forms a perfect golf-tee without soiling the fingers (Stand E. 55), and hot-water bottles made at an hour's notice to match any colour scheme. There seems something particularly impious in the association of grandfather clock with cocktail cabinet (D. 67) ; nor does the fact that the clock-part shows the time in other countries serve as any real excuse. " When it's night time in Italy, it's time for a little something over here," perhaps ! It is notoriously difficult to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but any who would care to see a ladies' handbag made of tripe can do so on Stand A. 32.
The commercial application of Mr. Ernest Proctor's " Dia- phaenicons," which were recently exhibited at the Leicester Galleries, can be seen on Stand C. 12. These consist of several sheets of glass placed one behind the other an inch or so apart, on each of which is painted a portion of the design. The whole is enclosed in a plated case and illuminated by a hidden light from above or below. Flower subjects are the most effective : the best of these achieve an extraordinarily fascinating effect—rather like a very ethereal basket of Victorian paper-flowers, with perhaps a hint of an aquarium. They should be particularly attractive in a niche or built in over a fireplace.
When all else palls, one can visit the exhibit of the Post Office Telephones in the Empire Hall Annexe, and watch the tele- printer working to Birmingham or see what curious things occur when one dials a number on the automatic telephone. Or one can speak into a mouthpiece and observe the actual shape of the sound-waves. I did this, but was rather dis- couraged by finding my voice rougher than I had thought.
G. M. BOITALPHREIL
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