Some of the best, some of the most famous, but the best first:
The signatures of Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, and Calvin Cooldige. Not our most accomplished Chief Executives; too much time perfecting their signatures, perhaps.
Now the famous:
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John F. Kennedy.
We here at Basis are in a culinary state of mind, having seen Julie & Julia this weekend (and, yes, having bought Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking from Amazon almost immediately). We got to thinking of dinner plates, and then to some of the most famous, and arguably most important, plates on earth; the White House china. Luckily for us, most of the White House china used over the centuries has been preserved in some form. Although it was not until somewhat recently that congress passed a law mandating that all White House china be either saved or destroyed. There’s a great story that when Lyndon and Ladybird Johnson didn’t like their dessert plates, the staff were allowed to smash them against a wall in the basement! For your edification, a selection of the choicest china our country has to offer:
George Washington, 1st President of the United States
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States
George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
Let’s eat!
Jules Seltzer Associates, in combination with the Vitra Design Museum, does a whole line of miniaturized classic furniture. Measuring about 5 inches high on average, and costing you in the neighborhood of $350, it’s a lot of art and design for not as much money and zero practical use. However, they’re great for looking at, and art and design students can use them to study and learn. And, you know, they’re pretty cool.
All of these products are made with the same materials and the same proportions and craftsmanship as the originals. They’re a neat and kind-of-sort-of cheaper way to get closer to some of your favorite industrial designs, chairs, and designers.
Few people have had made their personal appearance such an integral part of their craft, and few have changed so much in so little time. A review of Bowie album covers from 67 to 79, a turbulent time.
Ground control to Major Tom…
Of course, I would be extremely remiss if I didn’t direct you to the superb song from the Flight of the Conchords, Season 1: Bowie.
In the wake of Sunday night’s historic health care vote in the House of Representatives, here’s one of the finest (and finest-designed) hospitals in the UK’s NHS system: Evelina Children’s Hospital in London.
Here we see the lobby. The facility re-opened with this re-design in 1999, and doubles as a teaching hospital for nearby King’s College. Here’s a view of some of the teaching facilities:
Wouldn’t we all like to study in a room like that? Now, this is a childrens hospital first and foremost, and the design for the beautiful building extended to hospital rooms and play areas for the children who’ll be using it:
This futuristic slide is called a helter skelter. Here’s a hospital room:
The abundance of light available in the room is healthful as well as mood altering; and the room is just gorgeous on it’s own.
The current American bill doesn’t come close to creating a government-run not-for-profit system, but, as you can see from our allies’ NHS hospital, there’s nothing to be afraid of (unless you fear children and architecture, and in that case, run screaming).
The best uniforms from yesterday and today’s action:
Saint Mary’s:
Kentucky:
And Texas:
Allow us to display our favorite shoes of all time, the red, low-cut, Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars.
Love the look, love the design, love the color. Love the associations with the bygone days of the NBA, neighborhoods with decorated telephone wires, and punk music. Gimme.
Yes, we shun the high tops when it comes to personal choice, but they, too, look rather fresh:
Of course, some of us are classicists.
Do you know what the trouble with a classicist is? We’ll let Lou Reed and John Cale fill ya’ll in on that one:
The trouble with a classicist, he looks at a tree;
That’s all he sees, he paints a tree.
The trouble with a classicist, he looks at the sky;
He doesn’t ask why, he just paints a sky.
Digression!
Hat Tip to The Cool Hunters for featuring this magnificent store (VitraHaus) on their blog. Check out the very cool stacked-house style of architects Pierre de Meuron and Jacques Herzog, and reflect on how much more fun it must be to shop in Europe.
Come on in, stay a while, buy some stuff…
