Reading… MidCentury magazine

I do love magazines – I work for one aside from blogging, and have literally piles and piles of them at home, much to my boyfriends frustration (I just can’t bare to part with them, who knows when I might need that Vogue from 1999 or that Wallpaper from 2004…). The absolute dream would one day to set up my own magazine, which is exactly what Tabitha Teuma did with independent UK-based biannual, MidCentury magazine.

MidCentury magazine provides inspiration to those who love Mid Century Modern furniture, interiors and architecture, and equips them with the know-how to buy and collect well – think timeless Scandinavian furniture, Brutalist buildings and retro designs. Inspired by the quest to furnish and renovate her own 1960s London apartment, Tabitha set up MidCentury magazine at the start of 2011, running it from the G Plan dining table at one end of her living room.

She says: ‘I’d been working as the editor of an arts journal for a while and had been toying with the idea of starting my own publication. Having been a fan of mid-century design for some years and having long bemoaned the omission of a publication on the topic here in the UK, I set out to create one myself. For people just like me!’

The latest issue, MidCentury 08, guest edited by Frances Ambler, features a sneak peek inside two lovingly restored mid-century homes – a Grade II-listed Span house in Blackheath and a 1966 scandi-inspired bungalow – plus a buying guide for vintage travel posters and Georg Jensen jewellery, and some beautiful Danish design to covet. There’s also a feature on Scottish designer Robert Stewart and a look at the architect-designed childrens’ playgrounds that accompanied Britain’s post-war Brutalist blocks, as well as an interview with contemporary ceramic artist Lubna Chowdhary who creates colourful, bold artworks for urban public spaces.

My favourite piece in the issue came from author, historian and curator Lesley Jackson, who takes the reader on a tour of her collection of Danish 20th century design – Hans Wegner and Ercol chairs included – and reveals the stories behind them. Hopefully one day I will have such a collection in the making, but for the moment, I have my Ercol chair, my magazine and a cup of coffee – a perfect afternoon I’d say…

 
All images my own