Craft Horizons Magazine – Part 2.

May/June 1952
“Aerial Act” 1950, done in brass, copper and nichrome wire by Richard Lippold.

July/August 1953
Glass in shell form designed by Tapio Wirkkala. Color application by Craft Horizons.
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November/December 1954
A collage snowflake dramatizing contents of the issue. Designed by Sydney Butchkes.

May/June 1952
“Juggler in the Sun” 1951 by Richard Lippold.
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July/August 1953
Kay Bojesen’s Manhattan blocks.

July/August 1954
A composition of Lissajous figures which are produced by a means of a series of swinging pendulums whose vibrations are registered graphically. The patterns were achieved by Professor Alfred Gysi of Zurich. The figures shown on the cover are similar to but not identical with those in Graphis 16.

September/October 1956
Special issue on California. Cover signifies the content of the issue and the people who make them. The cover by Robert Brownjohn represents the constant sun whose rays encompass the principal crafts of the state–ceramics, carving, metal, mosaics, woodturning and plastics.
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November/December 1954
Glass by Kaj Franck of Finland. From the article, ‘Handcraft, the Lore of the Substances”.

May/June 1954
Translucent glass plates and free form bowls, surface explored with enameling. Designed and executed in pale blue, ambers and clear by Maurice Heaton. Cover designed by Sydney Butchkes.
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Spring 1949
“Masks” designed by Ray Komei and hand printed on a linen-like textile, part of a set of coordinated fabics and wallpapers in the “Contempora” series by Laverne Originals.

[ All images © ]
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Earlier this summer I was the lucky recipient of a gift of over 100 Craft Horizons, with issues ranging from 1949 to 1972. For this post I concentrated on an amuse-bouché from a golden era for the magazine. While the covers alone are swoon-worthy, the articles within offer a delicious array of early content from what are now considered the icons of mid-century design. To whit, in just the July/August 1953 issue: Leo Lionni on modern design, Fong Chow on pottery, a feature about Tapio Wirkkala and another on Kay Bojesen.

Now back to flipping through the pages of these lovely undersung gems, oohing and ahhing my afternoon away.

See more >> Craft Horizons flickr set
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Sandi Vincent grew up in the bay area of California surrounded by mid-century modern architecture and other influences responsible for her affinity for the period and its pop style, including her early exposure to The Monkees, The Avengers and Gerald McBoing-Boing. Sandi now resides in Portland and is a board member of a local nonprofit preservation group, the Mid-Century Modern League. In her day job at a community foundation, she sports the web/social media/print materials coordinator title.

Follow Sandi on Twitter > @SandiV

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