These wonderful photos were taken in 1961 by Ralph Crane documenting ‘Black Cat Auditions in Hollywood’ for Life magazine. A shot of Vincent Price at the end suggests that this audition must have been for Tales of Terror (1962) by Roger Corman. Method actors all but which ones will end up on the casting couch? Via Bored Panda
Described as the ‘Forgotten Pioneer’, Alastair Morton (1910-1963) led Edinburgh Weavers to be one of the most innovative textile companies of the twentieth century. He was one of the first producers to use artists, painters and sculptors to create fabric patterns. Major figures such as Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, Cecil Collins, as well as foreign artists such as Marino Marini, Victor Vasarely were commissioned to produce patterns. Other artist-designers
An Avocado Sweet favourite, Mr Blandings Builds his Dream House has Cary Grant and Myrna Loy struggling to restore an old house on a tight budget – so funny and delightful. In this scene Mrs Blandings gives some carefully considered paint colour choices to her dubious painter. I think many of us have had a version of this conversation – probably with the same outcome.
Armed with pen and ink and a trusty 1940s sewing machine, Jo Chambers creates these utterly charming, embroidered pet portraits. The starting point for the A4 size images is a good quality photograph along with all-important information about the subject’s character. Jo, who is based in Bath, has an Etsy shop and welcomes commissions from doting dog and cat owners. Portraits start at about £85.
Dunkeld is a small picturesque and prosperous town in Perthshire that is worth a visit for a few hours. Among the mostly independent cafes, shops and restaurants there’s a butcher, a fantastic hardware/kitchen shop called Kettles,a few antique shops and a couple of small galleries. In the centre there is also a smoke house where you can get your day’s catch of salmon smoked – both salmon and trout are
The White House tried crowdsourcing when Obama first came in. They asked the public what its main priorities should be. Legalising marijuana came up number one. Depending on your point of view it may, or may not, have worked for Obama but a version of crowd sourcing is delivering for furniture producer and retailer, Groopti. The website invites submissions from designers then people can vote to green light the production
This is the unofficial music video for Feist’s, song Now at Last, set in a beautiful rural village in China about a toy robot who learns what it means to live. Both video and robot are ‘made in China’. Directed and shot by Lawrence Chen, originally from Beijing and now living in New York city.
It’s election day and here’s a great range of message laden products from Radical Tea Towel which manage to be assertively left wing and rather elegant at same time. Not since the impoverished Van Gogh used his as a canvas has the humble tea towel been pressed into so high a purpose. The tea towels start at £9 and aprons are £12. For the undomesticated political thinker, there are also greetings
The sci fi book collection curated over at Good Show Sir! comes complete with commentaries on the extraordinarily elaborate cover art favoured by the genre. The site’s creators have been sharing these book store finds among friends from years and describe their approach to the covers and the artists who created them as ‘fondly mocking’. ‘We laugh,’ they say ‘but we wholeheartedly salute their greatness.’ ‘I have no mouth, but I
Say cheese then strap that rocket to your back…Jason Lee, wedding photographer, took these unconventional family portraits in 2006. His mother had just been diagnosed with non-Hogkins lymphoma and these photos on his blog kept his mum up to date with her granddaughters when their childhood infections prevented them from seeing their grandmother. Most of the ideas came from his daughters – eight-year-old Kristin and five-year-old Kayla. Via Bored