Blog

Maxi dress (style 444), Frank Usher, 1975

31 August 2022
Having just watched a documentary about the 1970s sitcom ‘The Good Life’ last night, I was inspired to write this blog about MoDiP’s lovely Frank Usher maxi dress (refer image below). I am sure it would have been the kind of thing that Margo would have worn, perhaps accessorised with a sparkling...
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GPO 312L telephone, Johan Christian Bjerknes and Jean Heiberg, 1954

24 August 2022
This beautiful GPO 312L telephone (refer image below) is currently on display in the museum for just a few weeks more, as part of our exhibition Why Plastics? I love it because it reminds me of my own 312, although mine is black in colour and made of bakelite (phenol formaldehyde). AIBDC : 008939...
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View-master, Model F, Charles Harrison, 1958

17 August 2022
I recently catalogued a View-master, Model F, stereo viewer (refer image below). It was designed by Charles ‘Chuck’ Harrison in 1958 whilst he was working for the US design company, Robert Podall Associates. It was manufactured by Sawyer’s and was their last model to be made in bakelite (phenol...
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Assistive tableware, Russell Manoy, 1969

10 August 2022
Currently on display in the museum as part of the Why Plastics? exhibition, is a range of tableware created by industrial designer and ergonomist, Russell Manoy, in 1969. It was intended for disabled users, with particular reference to those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, but was also...
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Tilley paraffin iron, 1953

3 August 2022
I do not iron very often. Easy-care synthetics, especially in school uniforms, mean that in our house there is rarely a need (well, that is what I tell myself anyway!). So, when I recently catalogued a Tilley iron, I was intrigued by the fact that it was powered by paraffin, something I had never...
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Wunup Baccyflap

27 July 2022
A few weeks ago, we delivered an outreach engagement session to a local school, showing Year 7 pupils a selection of plastics objects related to WWII (refer image below). A selection of the WWII related objects. Image credit: Katherine Pell One of the objects that really caught my attention was the...
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Football!

20 July 2022
On the 7th July I went to my first ever football match. Many members of my family have been regular supporters of our local team, and others, over generations but I am not a fan of ball sports preferring those with wheels and often engines too. However, the Women’s Euros are on, and a number of...
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Chelseas boots, Mary Quant, 1967

13 July 2022
We recently acquired these fabulous Chelseas ankle boots, designed by Mary Quant in 1967. In black coloured cotton jersey, enveloped in transparent polyvinyl chloride (PVC), they were manufactured by G.B. Britton & Sons, Bristol. The trademark Quant daisy logo can be seen moulded into the heel and...
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Mouldings of Merit

6 July 2022
I know that I have written about my own fascination with trawling though old industry publications in previous blogs but, once again, the effort of doing so has been very rewarding. Actually, if I am being honest, on this occasion it was a colleague who was doing the trawling, but knowing that I had...
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Re: cycling

29 June 2022
The 2022 Tour of Britain bike race takes place from 4th - 11th September, with Stage Seven seeing the riders pass through MoDiP’s local area. In anticipation and in celebration of this exciting event, we have put together a pop-up exhibition exploring the increasing role of plastics within the...
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