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Category / Inspiration Vault

America’s “Bohemian Queen”: A Sleeping Surrealist

“I am a witch, oh that’s true”, confirmed Gertrude Abercrombie to a Chicago radio host in 1977, the year she died. In truth, the strangest thing about Gertrude Abercrombie is that she isn’t a household name among the Surrealist greats of the 20th century. Sure, she wore pointy hats, cast spells, lived in a spooky…

Tune into the Forgotten Dial-a-DJ Jukeboxes of Yesteryear

Isn’t she a beauty? I had one of those hallelujah moments while browsing the collectible pages of Ebay today when I came across this seldom seen “Empire State Building” jukebox circa 1935. Invented by Ken Shyvers, the same guy who invented pinball machines, the Shyvers Multiphone is about 50cm tall with a 19cm square base and…

Who Was the Love Doctor of Belle Epoque Paris?

Dr. Samuel Pozzi may be a father of modern gynaecology, whose name is still tied to a pair of surgical scissors used to operate on fallopian tubes around the world today (the pozzi forceps), but his story would be much better placed in a steamy romance novel than a medical textbook. The “disgustingly handsome” celebrity…

The Lost Art and Innovation of Milk Plastic

Got milk? Pour yourself a glass and gulp down some little-known history about the household staple. In the early decades of the 20th century, milk was commonly used to make many plastic ornaments, including jewellery, gemstones, buttons, decorative buckles, fountain pens, fancy comb and brush sets and even piano keys. Milk plastic was even used to adorn Chanel’s…

Struck with Style: Lightning Rod Fashion of the 18th Century

Unfathomably whacky fashions have seen the light over the ages. Take the perilous hobble skirt of the early 1910s that deliberately impeded its wearer’s ability to walk, or the gentleman’s codpiece that drew eyes to his genital area for most of 16th century Europe. We’ve dug up yet another surprising fashion trend of yore courtesy…

Ode to the Rag-and-Bone Man

When Parisian garbage collectors went on strike in the Spring of 2023, suddenly everyone was talking and thinking about trash. Sanitation and waste management services are so commonplace for the majority of the world, it takes an almighty “big stink” for us to realise just how important and valuable sanitary services are. Just under a…

When Sex & Kitsch Collide: A Brief Compendium of Really Good Retro Tubs

It’s time to take a breather circa 1975, courtesy of the best bygone, groovy bathrooms – which would be nothing without their larger-than-life tubs. These babies were the heart of the retro restroom. We’re talking tubs with jets, and psychedelic tiles; tubs with matching shag rugs, and enough space for everyone to unwind at your…

All Hail Rosaleen Norton and her Wicked Cool Revival of Witchcraft

When did witchcraft actually become “cool”? At the beginning of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, three witches chanting “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble, something wicked this way comes”, were described as ‘old bearded hags’ by the playwright. Persecuted and hunted by the church for centuries but now popularised in modern culture, the hashtag…

Lost Films: Hitchcock, Gatsby and Oscar-winning Movies that Vanished

Who made the better Gatsby? Did DiCaprio pull off a pink suit as well as Robert Redford did in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 adaptation? There is another version of The Great Gatsby, although we won’t be making any comparisons with it because the 1926 silent film by Paramount Pictures has simply ceased to exist. Very few are even…

Adult Playground Holiday Homes: A Closer look at the Supersized New Travel Trend

Some of us may dream of relaxing at a serene beach villa or a cosy little cottage nestled amidst a luscious landscape, but if a popular new category created for the Airbnb market is any indication of current travel moods, there appears to be a growing demand to vacation on what can only be described…

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