Fornasetti on the cheap

So I was browsing around Etsy recently and found this very cool shop, Monkeyshines. They specialize "in salvaging one of a kind ephemera from critically damaged vintage books." Anyhow, I just got my hands on this fantastic pocket mirror.



Does it ring a bell?

How about now?



If I had to name my favorite designer...I'd have to say it's Piero Fornasetti. There is something elusive and whimsical about his work which charms me every time I see it. My parents are fans as well and I grew up with some Fornasetti pieces, so I suppose there's a nostalgic aspect to it as well. I've always coveted their Architettura lamp.



Now, of course, I have my very own Fornasetti piece. I sort of collect Swatch watches (I have about 6 and I'm planning on getting more) and last year I found this great Dutch website, where you can buy Swatch editions from all the way back in the eighties. Here's my newest discovery:
Baiser d'Antan from the fall 1992 collection. There's a different Fornasetti design in black and white, called Glance which I will definitely be purchasing at a later date, but the former was more to my taste.


I'm sure you'll be hearing more about my Fornasetti obsession in later posts. If you're interested, there's a lovely little book by Assouline featuring an interview by Philippe Starck of Fornasetti fils, Barnabas, who is carrying the family torch now that Piero has passed away.

I sort of have this dream to collect his Julia plates, which are all variations on a 19th c. portrait of Lina Cavallari, and have a whole wall just covered in them. They sell for $100 and up, so maybe if I win the lottery it will happen.