Get insider info for Modernica’s Factory Sale by downloading our Factory Sale App! The Yapp-box app includes up-to-date information on Factory Sale location and times, as well as constant news updates and photos of available sale products.

Click here to go straight to the Yapp page and for instructions on how to download.

And don’t forget to follow @Modernica on Twitter and look for hashtag #modernicafactorysale for updates before and during the sale on May 18th.

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Julius Shulman & Juergen Nogai. Philip Johnson Glass House, National Trust Historic Site, New Canaan, CT (Phillip Joohnson, architect), 2007.

If you saw the 2008 film Visual Acoustics, Nogai is the man working with Shulman on new photographs. More than an assistant, Nogai is often referred to as Shulman’s protégé. During their decade-long collaboration, Shulman and Nogai were published together in many books, magazines, and newspapers while working on an array of public and private projects.

Juergen continues to work as a photographer in Los Angeles, establishing his own legacy while keeping the spirit of Shulman’s genius alive. Nogai is represented by Craig Krull Gallery.

Julius Shulman & Juergen Nogai. Case Study House #21, LA, CA, 2006.

Julius Shulman & Juergen Nogai. Private residence in Pasadena (Frank Dimster, Architect), 2003.

Julius Shulman & Juergen Nogai. Griffith Park Observatory, LA, CA, 2007.

Julius Shulman & Juergen Nogai. Killingsworth House, #15, 2008.

Julius Shulman & Juergen Nogai. Furman House, 2008.

The post Juergen Nogai: Julius Shulman’s Impressive Protégé appeared first on Modernica Blog.

When a customer walks through the doors of Laguna Beach’s Lightopia storefront, they are transported into a dazzling haven of twinkling glass and modern design. Pendant lights of every shape, size, and color lead the visitor into a bright world, full of new decorating possibilities. The lighting boutique prides itself on an unusual offering of international lighting solutions and modern art.

Along with modernist treasures like George Nelson Bubble Lamps, Lightopia imports silk pendant lamps from Venice, Italy and other artistic hubs throughout the world. One-of-a-kind blown glass ornaments by local artist Caleb Siemon also line the shelves, reflecting chandelier light in luminous color.

If you’ve been looking for a beautiful and totally unique way to illuminate your home, drop by Lightopia in Laguna Beach CA, or go to lightopiaonline.com. The friendly staff will help you to design a custom solution that can complement any decor style.

The post Dealer Spotlight: Lightopia Presents a World of Illumination appeared first on Modernica Blog.

If you’re at all familiar with Stan Bitters’s iconic work, you’ve probably seen his thumbprints pressed into his ceramics, from planters to wall-length sculptures. His rough-hewn, nature-inspired style is what made his work so unique and integral to the organic modern movement that began in the 1960s. Now, you can take home a piece of this fascinating history when you purchase a Stan Bitters Thumb Pot from Modernica, all of which are still hand-sculpted in Bitters’s Fresno studio.

Photo Credit: Gardendesign.com

The organic modernist craft movement began in the 1960s and was influenced greatly by the earthy, hand-crafted work of artists like Stan Bitters. Today, his mid-century work is still scattered across Southern California; his timeless sculptures and fountains are now valued as historic masterpieces. Indeed, Thumb Pots and ceramic pieces that were created by Stan Bitters in the ’60s and ’70s are sometimes auctioned today for thousands of dollars.

Luckily you can find his current pieces right here at Modernica, including Thumb Pots and Ceramic Birdhouses. Get a feel for the organic, rough-hewn quality of his work at our Los Angeles showroom, or visit Modernica.net to order.

The post Stan Bitters Thumb Pots: Now Available from Modernica appeared first on Modernica Blog.

Prefab Separate Guest Room

Photo Credit: Houzz.com

Photo Credit: HGTV Remodels

Backyard Playroom or Playhouse

Photo Credit: Inhabitat.com

Photo Credit Dwell.com

Photo Credit: Dwell.com

Prefab Vacation Home

Photo Credit: Houzz.com

Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

Photo Credit: Dwell.com

Rooftop Getaway

Photo Credit: Weburbanist.com

A Traveling Modernist Relic

Photo Credit: Houzz.com

The post Inspire Me Monday: Great Uses for Modern Prefab Spaces appeared first on Modernica Blog.

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Modernica Factory Sale: May 18th 9am – 3pm

If you’ve been waiting patiently for the past year and a half, the wait is finally over! Modernica’s factory sale will be held on May 18th, 2013. During the one-day event, our customers will have a rare chance to purchase a full range of products at 20% – 70% off.

Products from Modernica’s standard product line are offered, such as Fiberglass Shell Chairs and George Nelson Bubble Lamps, as well as Case Study Stainless outdoor furniture, bedroom, and dining furniture, at super low prices.

This year, attendees will have access to a new treat – a first-person look at the Fiberglass Shell Chairs in the making. Modernica’s historic Fiberglass Shell Chair factory houses the same machinery that was used to fabricate the original Eames chairs in the 1950s. Customers can watch a piece of history unfold before their eyes as each authentic shell chair is crafted from raw fiberglass.

A few of the most popular LA food trucks will be serving on-site, so come hungry. Enjoy this singular occasion at the Modernica Factory on May 18th, starting at 9am: 2901 Saco Street Los Angeles, CA 90058. And make sure to subscribe to our email list, Facebook, and Twitter for insider deals and special offers.

• Free off-street parking
• Use our on-site delivery service or bring your own truck.
• 1.5 Miles South of the Santa Fe exit off the 10 freeway.
• Our LA showroom will be closed on the 18th of May.

Can’t make it to the Sale?

Use coupon code FactorySale at checkout to receive 15% off on all website orders at modernica.net   May 17 – 19, 2013.

The post The Modernica Factory Sale is Finally Here! appeared first on Modernica Blog.

If you haven’t paged through one of their photo-rich articles highlighting mid-century architecture and design, you can find out more here. For now, enjoy a few more photos of Modernica gracing the pages of Atomic Ranch:

The post Did You Catch the Saucer Pendant on the Cover of This Month’s Atomic Ranch? appeared first on Modernica Blog.

Once the plants have passed their prime I will transplant them onto a wooded bank in my garden and find something equally lovely to take their place. My bowl will live outdoors in dappled shade in the spring and summer months, coming indoors for special occasions.

I will replant it regularly as the flowers fade, ringing the changes and mood of the planting as the mood and season takes me. It will look just as striking with a single type of plant – ferns for a shady spot, or lavender in the sun.  With the arrival of  the colder months, I will bring it  indoors and plant it with a succession of bulbs, starting with hippeastrum (amaryllis) for Christmas.  The wooden plinth will be kept for indoor use so that I can stand the bowl on polished surfaces without causing any damage.

Planting the Bowl

1. Before you begin,  give your chosen plants a thorough watering and allow excess water to drain away.
2. When there are no drainage holes in a bowl, it is advisable to add a layer of grit or gravel to the pot to stop the roots getting waterlogged. I have also added some biochar to stabilize the nutrients and keep water sweet if it does collect in the bottom of the bowl.
   
3. Half fill the bowl with a potting compost that is specially formulated for container planting.
4. For a mixed planting add the tallest plant first – in this case it is a white bleeding heart positioned next to the rim of the bowl. Avoid placing the tallest plant centrally; it makes it more difficult to create a naturalistic arrangement.
5. Arrange the other plants in front of the key plant – here they are snakeshead fritillaries, wood anemones, scilla, dwarf narcissus, and cowslips. Once you are happy with the composition, gently feed compost round the rootballs and then top with grit, gravel, or moss.

Stephanie Donaldson lives in the UK and is contributing gardens editor of Country Living Magazine as well as author of a number of books on Window Boxes, Hanging Baskets, and Container Gardening.  You can read a little more about Stephanie on her popular gardening blog – The Enduring Gardener.

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The Park Planned Community

This page from Progressive Architecture Magazine shows a Gregory Ain Park Planned Neighborood

Then called the Park Planned Community, this housing tract of 28 homes, 14 on each side of the street, was built in 1945-46. Each home had a similar floor plan, with garages placed in pairs at the front of the lots to create privacy in the courtyard on fairly large lots.

I was immediately attracted to these homes and had my realtor investigate to see if anyone wanted to sell. I got lucky; one of the homes was owned by a bail bondsman, who had acquired it when someone had used their house to post bond and lost it.  The bondsman was happy to unload it.  I made an offer without ever stepping foot inside the home, closing escrow 45 days later on a wreck of a house.

The Renovation

Looking around the mostly concrete yard, it was hard to imagine that Garrett Eckbo himself had been the landscape architect on the original project. About all that remained was a beautiful, dying eucalyptus tree.

Lori’s Home, Before

It took 5 years to renovate this home and it was a great learning experience for me on many levels. The dining room was located in the front of the house while the living room was in the back; this created a flow between the two rooms and enabled ample cross-ventilation to flow through the combined space. To accentuate cross-ventilation in each room, Ain created a clerestory that stretched across three-quarters of the width of each house’s roof, allowing light in two of the three bedrooms, the kitchen, and one of the bathrooms.

Lori’s Home, After

Lori’s Backyard, Before

Lori’s Backyard, After

A Modern-Day Interpretation Of Ain’s Vision

In 2003, the year that I sold this home, the street was declared a historical landmark and Julius Schulman, who had photographed the completed project back in 1946, came to the ceremony. Fast forward to today, and almost the entire street now consists of renovated and remodeled homes, most of which far exceed the simple vision that Ain had for this project – definitely not affordable to the “everyman,” as Ain had in mind back in the 1940s.

Here are some additional photos of the Park Planned Community on Highview Avenue in Altadena, CA:

A model by Gregory Ain, of one of his planned homes

A Drawing Plan by Gregory Ain

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 By Lori Weise, Modernica General Manager

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