Sunday, January 24, 2010

Music and Design at Sample Board Online

In the mid 1980’s I had a flash of revelation about how design can have the same impact on us as music can and came up with my little saying ‘Design is to the eye what music is to the ear’. This like all revelations is not new. I think it was Isaac Newton who actually related the notes in music to colours. I found this out later. I thought I had come up with a brilliant new thought. We can only dream.

'Design is to the eye what music is to the ear'  






I suddenly remembered the old book were Isaac Newton’s theory is discussed. You know what it’s like to have something in the back of your mind and you struggle to bring it to full remeberance. May be you don’t have these sort of lapses but that’s what happens to me. The book was written in 1969 by Faber Birren. It is a small book called ‘Principles of Color’ and it outlines and reviews past traditions and theories on colour.
Colour and Musical notes
Newton allied seven notes on the music scale with seven colours. Red with the note C, orange  with D, yellow E,  green with F, blue with G, indigo with A and violet with B. What an amazing theory. Love colour and music. I am not a musician and can only play cords on a keyboard. But I have had some wonderful times playing creating my own sound.    


Since I was a wee girl I have always sang. One of my first memories is singing with my Dad. We are a family of singers. When we lived in Germany we would all pile into the big blue kapatan car. As we travelled along with the roof skylight open and all the windows down we sang at the top of our lungs. We thought we were the Von Trapp Family Singers. I have a great passion for singing, music and design.






Mix of old and new   
There is a wonderful trend of mixing old styles with contemporary interior design. We have only to think of the wonderful reinvention of the Louis XVI chair in plastic by Philippe Stark called the ghost chair to find an example of this trend.
This is one of the reasons why we have included lamps from The Antique and Vintage Lamp Co in the Sample Board Online library of products. It will allow designers to have the advantage of including on unexpected lamp design in a scheme.    


The Antique and Vintage Lamp Co
The antique lamp shop offers a brilliant range of antique and vintage lamps. The styles include Chinese, English, French, Japanese, 18th Century, 19th century and 20th Century lamps.



Maurice Robertson the principle has been involved with antique porcelain and pottery for a period of 45 years. This includes 25 years as international specialist dealer, formerly known as "The Antique Porcelain Gallery", valuer to The Australian Incentive to the Arts Scheme and regular lecturers. His long experience with antique ceramics and glass includes dealing with museums and the supply of pieces of national interest to the Prime Minister's Department.




The company offers a certificate of authenticity with each of the individually designed lamps, providing a full description, circa date and unconditional guarantee.



Sourcing Service
The company offers an invaluable service to designer, decorators, both home and professional, The Antique and Vintage Table Lamp Co will source lamps to your requirements. After 45 years of dealing, they have access to a worldwide network of specialist resources, and while they can not  make guarantees in the unpredictable world of quality antiques, they certainly have a high success rate.


Just contact the company providing details of your desired lamp. Photographs are always helpful, both of the piece or style if possible and the room in which it will reside. Maurice will get back to you as promptly as he can and discuss your request.


Between the extensive range offered, the sourcing capability and in house, custom made, lampshade service, The Antique and Vintage Lamp Co will make your search for the perfect lamp easier.




“No design can exist in isolation. It is always related, sometimes in very complex ways, to an entire constellation of influencing situations and attitudes. What we call a good design is one which achieves integrity – that is, unity or wholeness – in balanced relation to its environment. The reason good design is hard to come by is that its creation demands a high degree of emotional and intellectual maturity in the designer, and such people are not found too often.”
George Nelson.
You will find a number of lamps from The Antique and Vintage Lamp Co on the Sample Board Online site. If you visit http://www.sampleboardonline.com you can choose a lamp and try it out on a board, have some creative fun and then buy the lamp most suited to the room you are creating. 

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