Retro Design by Dave Nemeth


Accelerating from the 50s, the design industry has been in a race to find more economical ways to produce higher volumes of goods, leading up to where we are now which is seeing most items coming off huge production lines in China. This has given the world well priced items readily available with a variety of choices. It has, however, also created negative and far reaching effects on the environment as well as other countries’ economies and sustainable manufacture. Countries which once took global pride in their hand-carved furniture, beautiful fine fabrics and intricate marquetry have seen these iindustries, which in many cases have been handed down for generations, diminish in size if in existence at all.



The east has perfected cheap replication and the masses have lapped this up due to the affordability. The unfortunate truth is that this has had a dramatic effect on design and craftsmanship as a whole. But like everything, for every action there is a reaction, and although we have come to realise (thanks to the recession) that we need to look after our own industry and heritage, we have also come to see what true quality is and the gratitude this brings.



Globally, we have seen this take shape in the food industry, with the focus on organically-grown produce as well as fair trade practices; we see this in music too as vinyl makes an international comeback with even the youth appreciating the tactile and sound quality this has over MP3 downloads. In recent years we have seen revivals of the Mini, the Beetle and the Vespa, with Paul Smith revisiting the “Mod” styling of the 60s in his clothing. Even kids’ toys are taking on a retro feel, with parents realising that video games do not provide all the necessary stimulation. It is only natural that this would start to take shape within the strong retro influence, but it seems that this goes a little deeper than us merely appreciating the styling. We seem to have a deeper nostalgic appreciation of these articles that were often crafted and what they stood for.



We begin to once again start seeing the home as a retreat from our over busy techno-driven lives. Consumers will however not suddenly give up the latest technology but continue to embrace it as this is the way forward; we will not be productive in this fast-paced world without our new mobile devices and our all-in-one smart phones, but we will see this combined with a newly adopted “old school” philosophy – a breakaway from mass production. Consumers have become wiser to what they are buying on the furniture front, and now realise the differences between solid wood, veneers and the foil veneers which flooded the market over the past ten years. Having bought these items, we have seen how they were merely short-lived fashion statements with no real longevity or true aesthetic appeal.



The appreciation of having the real article as opposed to the faux option is the state of the art touch screen TV sitting on an antique armoire against earthy-coloured walls with a combination of sofas of different styles. Wall art too will vary, with combinations of photographs and prints and paintings, retro posters and prints are also seeing a re-emergence with a new appreciation for typography and the process furniture and interior design industries too.




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