“Memphis Design is a 1980s design aesthetic characterized by scattered, brightly colored shapes and lines.
“It typically combines circles and triangles with black-and-white graphic patterns such as polka dots and squiggly lines.(1)”
MEMPHIS MILANO
“It was on the evening of 11 December 1980. In the living room of his home in Milan, Ettore Sottsass welcomed colleagues, designers, and architects to talk about new forms of expression.(2)”Example of Memphis Inspiration: Carlton Wooden bookcase designed by Ettore Sottsass
Elvis Presley ’68 Comeback Special photo from Wikipedia“The name Memphis was chosen because it is the city in Tennessee where Elvis Presley lived, but also the capital of Ancient Egypt.”(7)
“Ettore’s friends on hand that evening were Martine Bedin, Aldo Cibic, Michele De Lucchi, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Matteo Thun, and George J. Sowden. Memphis was later also joined by Andrea Branzi, Shiro Kuramata, Marco Zanini, Peter Shire, Gerard Taylor, Masanori Umeda, Arquitectonica, Michael Graves, Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, Javier Mariscal.
“On 19 September 1981, at the gallery Arc ’74 during the Salone del Mobile in Milan 55 pieces were shown, including furniture, lamps and ceramic objects. Three months later, over 400 periodicals, on a worldwide scale, paid tribute to the success of Memphis.”(2)
MEMPHIS DESIGN GROUP
Members included:(4)
Martine Bedin
Andrea Branzi
Aldo Cibic
Michele De Lucchi
Nathalie du Pasquier
Massimo Iosa Ghini
Michael Graves
Shiro Kuramata
Javier Mariscal
Alessandro Mendini
Barbara Radice
Peter Shire
Ettore Sottsass
George Sowden
Matteo Thun
Marco Zanini
Marco Zanuso
MEMPHIS GROUP INSPIRATION
Bob Dylan Studio Album Cover
“The inspiration behind naming themselves “Memphis” came about during their first meeting when Bob Dylan’s record “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” had been playing repeatedly in the background.
“Memphis” is the name of a city in Tennessee, which was named after a capital city of ancient Egypt. The group of designers used the ambiguity behind the name to represent and symbolise their ambiguous design philosophies of furniture, objects and textiles. Sottsass showed great interest in the middle-class taste, the traditions of the Third World and the East, and unspoiled nature.(6)”
ETTORE SOTTSASS, GROUP FOUNDER
“He was one of the founders of the design group Memphis. Via Finnish Design Shop.
“Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) was an influential Italian designer and architect, who became famous for his colourful, modernist designs and experimental, radical attitude.
“He (Sottsass) was one of the founders of the design group Memphis, and in 1980 he founded his own agency Sottsass Associati, which today has offices in London and Milan. Sottsass designed many products for the Italian design brand Alessi, and his works are included in the Alessi 100 Values Collection which was launched to celebrate Alessi’s centennial.”(3)
SOTTSASS ASSSOCIATI
“Sottsass Associati is a design studio that continues the operating philosophy of Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007), a leading figure in the world of internationally known architecture and design project culture, with an activity of over 50 years and a long series of awards conferred on him by cultural and professional institutions around the world. The firm is now structured as a network of European professionals, with an administrative office in the UK and an operational office in Milan.”
“Alessi 100 Alessi is an Italian design company that can be considered more of a design laboratory than just a manufacturer – this distinctive Italian brand has always been a true trendsetter. Founded in 1921, Alessi has collaborated with talented designers for over a hundred years. Today, Alessi is regarded as one of the leading manufacturers of tableware, kitchen utensils and home decor in the design world.”
“The Alessi 100 Values Collection celebrates the centennial of the Italian design house Alessi, founded in 1921. Between April 2021 and March 2022, Alessi presents 12 different projects, each of them referring to the most essential values of the legendary brand. The objects of the collection come from the Alessi Museum’s archives and include previously unpublished designs and new editions of iconic products by Ettore Sottsass and other famous designers.”
MICHAEL GRAVES FOR ALESSI
“Timeless charm and appeal Shown in countless magazine features and movie sets, the little kettle has continued to charm the public ever since it was first launched and can be found in the permanent collections of museums and international institutions all over the world including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Australian National Gallery and the MuDe: Museum of Design and Fashion in Lisbon.”(8)
MEMPHIS JEWELRY
The Memphis Design aesthetic even extended itself to costume jewelry. In fact, it is available on Etsy.com. Memphis Design Jewelry available on Etsy.
Flower power pin styles blossom in anonymous abundance just as wildflowers bloom in nature in all their colorful splendor.
Neither identification nor documentation exist for flower power pin styles in all their varieties before their huge popularity, during their craze in the 1960s and 70s, or even today as collectibles.
Therefore the opportunity continues to exist for a collector like myself to attempt to identify and provide a clear definition of them now in 2024. Let’s start with the components that qualify a 1960s-1970s brooch for flower power pin recognition.
CLASSIC FLOWER POWER PIN COMPONENTS
Here are the basic flower power pin components:
a. each component is molded steel
b. each component color(s) is enamel paint
c. there are usually one or two layers of petals (sometimes three even four) that are symmetrical on each layer
d. the front of the pin looks like a daisy
e. the center is also molded steel with a color of enamel paint
f. stems are also steel with enamel paint
g. the back of the pin component that holds it all together is a continuous screw in mechanism also made of metal
h. a center ‘button’ made of the same material but not necessarily the same color
The four images above illustrate the components of flower power pins
CLASSIC FLOWER POWER PIN STYLES
The following are all symmetrical daisy petal pins. Small pins have one layer of petals. Next, medium pins can have two layers of petal. Last, large pins can have three and even four layers of petals:
a. small (@1 1/2″ diameter)
b. small with stem (@ 3″ long)
c. medium (@2 1/2″ diameter)
d. medium with stem (@ 3 3/4″ long)
e. large (3″ diameter)
f. large with stem (unknown)
Flower power pin styles with sizes listed in text
MY CONCLUSION
The FPP that I have described and illustrated here are what I consider to be the original classic FPP templates and designs. There are many other styles in addition that are shown below. I suspect they are from other companies. Since I know of no contrary documentation, I conclude my study as such.
DERIVATIVE COMPONENTS AND STYLES OF FLOWER PINS
The following are what I call derivative flower pins. They do not fit the parameter of either of the first two sets of illustrations. But they loosely fit the idea but not the classic definition of a flower power pin style.
These three pins are in the Derivative style
MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT FLOWER POWER/FLOWER POWER PINS
This two-layer flower power brooch is two tones of blue with a green stem and two green leaves sold by Hey Viv! on ebay.
Flower power pins are one of my favorite kinds of vintage costume collectibles. But it is only recently that I have become familiar enough with flower power pins to realize that they hold a mystery.
Motivation My desire to become knowledgeable about these very popular flower power pins of the 1960s and 1970s led me to discover that there is a flower power mystery.
The Mystery Strange as it seems and in contrast to the genre of other alternative fashion materials, no identifying information about these very popular collectibles from the 1950s and 60s seems to exist. Therefore this leads me to a conclusion about them that relies on a few clues but mostly amounts to educated guesses.
Undocumented There is very little if anything written about either the history of flower power pins, their origins, where they were made, their manufacturers, or retailers.
Documented In fact, this is in contrast with other very popular vintage costume jewelry. It includes as well the alternative material accessories vintage lucite handbags explosion. Both are extremely well documented naming designers, manufacturers, and retailers.
Flower Power Slogan from Wikipedia
History, Manufacturers, and Retailers
Clues to Identification As a matter of fact, in researching what seems like hundreds of brooches and pairs of earrings first on Pinterest, Google or Yahoo and then on Ebay or Etsy, I find only a clue or two. Within the volume of jewelry on display, there is some singularity of designs and then in contrast some diversity.
Singularity To be specific, many of the daisy petal designs differ either in color only or slightly in design if the design varies at all. Actually these hint at a singularity or similarity between brooch and earring set designs.
Diversity On the other hand, I find brooch and earring designs that are unrelated to other design sets. What this means is that some of this jewelry has no singular grouping or consistent design like the daisy petal layer designs do. In fact those sets seem like strangers to each other.
The Daisy Enamel Metal Brooch and Earrings
Vintage Mod Retro 1960s one-layer Metal Enamel White Daisy Pin Brooch with stem
Observation of this jewelry indicates that the most popular theme builds upon the basic one layer ‘daisy’ pattern. From this observation, certain conclusions might be drawn.
The Daisy Pattern Design Theme Actually what I observe about and call the original daisy pattern design theme is that there is a variety of designs built upon just a simple one layer daisy pattern theme.
Variations From that design theme come stems, stems with leaves, no stems, pin backs and earring backs. In fact the greatest variety comes from the numbers of layers of daisy petals and whether or not they have holes in them.
One Layer Daisy Pins and Earrings To illustrate what I hypothesize above are examples of one-layer daisy pins and clip-on earrings below. They all have the same flower design pattern.
Different Colors Only the colors are different. In addition removal of the stem to create clip on earrings does not effect the basic design. Therefore they could all easily be mass produced by the same company. Pattern for one layer brooches and earrings are the same. Only the backing is changed to convert the brooch into clip on earrings.Shown here are clip earrings with closed backs, a pin with a closed back, and clip earrings with the backs open
Singular Designs of Layered Brooch and Earring Designs I want to continue describing the jewelry that appears to have order and singularity. To build upon the basic one-layer flower petal version, there can be two, three and even four layer brooches. Although they can become quite ornate, there is still an order to them as each layer is added. This is evident in the images below.
These three Flower-Power-Brooches differ only in colors. The design templates seem to be identical.At first glance these three layer daisy pins may seem completely different. But on closer inspection, essentially it is only the colors that differ. The designs are essentially the same.
Does the Same Pattern Design Mean They Are From the Same Company
Is it possible that brooches and earrings that vary only minimally such as color or the design variations (description above) are from the same company? In addition, can one conclude that brooches and earrings that vary significantly in design and patterns are from different companies?
Diverse or Unique Designs In contrast to brooch and earring designs that have similarity to them, there are brooches that seem to be unique without any relatives so to speak. Unlike the jewelry that seems to have a growing number of layers as their major difference, this other jewelry is diverse or one of a kind.
These three pins bear nothing in common other than the fact that they have a daisy design pattern.
Different Patterns and Templates Might Mean Different Companies
On the other hand, such one and two layer brooches are unique in both pattern and coloring. They do not have the continuum in design theme that the continuous layer jewelry described above displays.
Guess Again Where there is singularity in those, there is diversity in these other designs. Therefore the possibility might be that they are from different companies.
Still A Mystery
Why is there no identification of Flower Power Jewelry like fashion accessories from this period? In other words, who designed it as well as what company manufactured and sold it? Instead much literature does exist about the flower power era culturally. But that is as far as it goes.
Sort of a Hint Other vintage costume jewelry companies did offer credit on their products. In fact this is before during and after the Flower Power rage. But these other brands tend to be more pricey and decorative with rhinestone and other embellishments on them. For example, these companies include Marvella, Trifari, Sarah Coventry, Albert Weiss, Monet, Lisner, Coro, Napier, Lenora Dame, and Vendome.
Flower Power Jewelry and the flower power era described by Beatnik poet, Allen Ginsberg
A Possible Answer As I point out, since there is very little written about enamel metal brooches and earrings themselves with no identifying documentation at all, one has to surmise what the reason is for the anonymity of the Flower Power Jewelry. The closest thing to an answer lies in the ten other brands of vintage costume jewelry listed above that are from before, during, and after the Flower Power era because they are not definitively ‘flower Power’ jewelry.
Conclusion Thinking along the lines of the sheer volume of flower power pins produced (not one-of-a-kind), their minimal price (they were cheap), and their purpose did not warrant identifying them individually or artistically.
It is as if they were not created as ‘jewelry’ but rather more like flower ‘badges’ mass produced cheaply in Asia (?) with a socio-political more than artistic intention. This is my conclusion. In conversation with another collector, a seller and the owner of HeyViv!, she tends to concur with this conclusion. What do you think?
The Hudson Bay Blanket is an historical item that actually fascinates me.
In fact, not only does it have its own history but it also has a background that has interested me for many decades. Eventually this item went on to become used for outerwear in addition to the original blankets. Foremost, this blanket and the clothing that came from it are part of my half century learning and sharing passion or my ikigai.
Vintage Rare Hudson Bay 4 point blanket from Etsy.com with inset of 1936 ad for Mackinaw jacket
“The classic Hudson Bay Point blanket. This is a 4 point Beacon blanket. Has gold tag. Wonderful wool blanket with the iconic stripes. Blanket is in fantastic shape. No moth holes or big issues. There is one faint blemish as pictured. Otherwise in near perfect shape. Great for winter as these blankets are excellent and a great piece for the collector as these don’t come around too often in this shape.” Etsy
Hudson’s Bay point blanket from Wikipedia.org
Origin Paraphrased from The Canadian Encyclopedia: The first point blankets were created by French weavers who developed a “point system” — a way to specify the finished size of a blanket — sometime in the 17th century. (See also Weaving.)
The term “point,” in this case, originates from the French word empointer, which means “to make threaded stitches on cloth.” The points were simply a series of thin black lines on one of the corners of the blanket, which were used to identify the size of the blanket.
Even though the points on the blankets did not have an inherent value, merchants during the fur trade often priced point blankets according to the number of points on the blanket, with one point assigned for small blankets and four points designated for very large blankets.
Mackinaw Jacket When all hope failed that a shipment of military greatcoats would arrive from Britain, alternatives named Mackinaw jackets were made from these blankets. Their shorter length jacket was more fitting for travel between Montreal and Mackinaw with its deep snow drifts. In other words, two uses not just one came from the Hudson Bay point blankets. In addition, the Mackinaw jackets were of a superior quality to the British Greatcoats.
Trading with the Indians There is in fact a very controversial side to the story of trading with the Indians. Reference is made to it in the podcast above. It is not my intention to ignore this aspect of the history. But it is my preference to focus on the positive aspects of the Hudson Bay Blanket as an historical rather than politically motivated chronicle.
An Hermes scarf was one of the luxury accessories my mother brought back from her trip to Paris in 1964. Not only is it a luxury accessory but an Hermes scarf bought in 1964 is also a truly vintage item. In addition, it is in pristine condition. The scarf is from the Passementerie Silk Design Collection.
A Passementerie Silk Scarf that is now listed on the Tradesy.com website
This design came in many color themes. Actually the one show above is in my favorite colors. But it is not the one my mother chose. Hers was in a gold passementerie (tassel) theme with a light blue border. You can see a picture of her scarf at the end of this post.
HISTORY OF HERMES
I was able to locate an article on the history of Hermes. It expresses the history better than I could. Therefore, I am paraphrasing it below.
THE HISTORY OF THE HERMES SCARF: 1937 Hermes Scarf
One of the First Hermes Scarf Designs from 1937 Shows women playing a period game.
One of the first Hermes Scarf Designs from 1937 shows women playing a period game
‘The history of the Hermes scarves is a story of luxury. Even the name Hermes is synonymous with luxury—it really is the best of the best. The brand is known for its quality and desirability. I don’t know a single woman who doesn’t wish she had a beautiful Birkin or Kelly holy-grail-of-a-handbag to hang from her arm (even though she may never admit it).
Almost equally as coveted as the famous Hermes scarf is that trademark orange flat box it comes in. As many of us know, the Hermes brand started as a harness and bridle workshop for horses in Paris in 1837. Thierry Hermes catered to the elite of Europe. Eventually the company expanded into other leather goods (handbags, clothing, etc.). The company continued to grow in popularity over the decades. It became a global powerhouse in the fashion world and continually expanding into different avenues of design. Even today, the company is family-owned, with no licensing deals, and no mass-production. Nearly everything they make is done right in France by experienced artisans who understand the importance of quality.’
Thierry Hermes – The Founder of the Luxury Brand Hermes
The history of the Hermes scarf dates back to the introduction of the first scarf in 1937. Its design was based on a woodblock drawing by Robert Dumas, who was a member of the Hermes family. The Hermes scarf designs were produced from start to finish. They bought the raw silk from China, spun it into yarn, wove it into fabric, and screen-printed it.
Hermes Scarf Design – Handmade in 18 months
‘Each scarf is still individually screen-printed, and designers (of which there are many) are able to choose from tens of thousands of colors for their designs. Think $400+ is too much to pay for a square of silk? Consider this: Once a Hermes scarf design is complete, artisans in the Hermes workshops located outside Lyon take over (some 750 people are employed there!). It takes about 18 months to produce a scarf from that point. The engravers alone take some six months to determine each scarf’s distinct colors (on average about 27). In addition, it takes about 750 hours to engrave the screens for printing (one screen for each color).’
The website that the Hermes Scarf History Section is based on
HERMES TODAY
Today, Hermes scarves typically measure 90cm x 90cm (36 or so inches square), and are made from the silk of mulberry moth cocoons. Each edge is hand-rolled and hand-stitched (a great way to help determine if you’ve got a fake or genuine example), and I have read that one seamstress will roll and stitch only about seven scarves per day. (it’s about quality and craftsmanship, not quotas!) Two collections of silk scarves and two collections of cashmere/silk blend scarves are released each year (and sometimes reprints of old designs or limited editions are put out, as well).
The 2,000+ designs that have been made vary greatly, but many have equestrian motifs. We have seen the Hermes scarf everywhere—Princess Grace of Monaco used one as a sling for her broken arm in 1956. Emily Blunt’s character sent boxes and boxes of Hermes scarves flying into the air when she was (unfortunately) hit by a taxi in The Devil Wears Prada (apparently the devil also favors Hermes).
Queen Elizabeth is frequently photographed with a Hermes scarf covering her head (and a postage stamp featuring her wearing one of the famous scarves came out in the 1950s). Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn were fans, as are many contemporary celebrities and fashion icons. Need to know how to tie a Hermes scarf in different ways? There’s literally an app for that. I think owning a Hermes scarf is almost a rite of passage for anyone interested in fashion. We are in love with vintage printed Hermes scarves at Rice and Beans Vintage and always have a few in stock, so browse our selection of Vintage Hermes now and own a piece of history and art!
Hermès scarf and iconic orange box
Paraphrased article written by Heather Cox and Edited by Sarah Korsiak Cellier for Rice and Beans Vintage
Memphis Design Jewelry available on Etsy.
“Pioneer at Fort Garry 1861” from 
