8 July 2021
06 minutes
Travis Elborough, author of ‘Through the Looking Glasses’, shares the curious history of sunglasses in the early 20th century.
8 July 2021
Share episode
DownloadWant more radio episodes like these in your inbox?
Sign up to Monocle’s email newsletters to stay on top of news and opinion, plus the latest from the magazine, radio, film and shop.
Monocle on Design - latest episodes
Nuova at Milan Design Week
Rodrigo Caula and Enrico Pietra are the co-founders of Nuova, a California-based research and innovation luxury-design practice. At this year’s Milan Design Week, they took over Milanese bistro Via Stampa for their immer…
Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile, part 1
We’re in Italy for Milan Design Week. At our pop-up Monocle Radio studio we meet Giopato and Coombes, Matteo Thun, Yves Béhar and Orior Furniture’s Ciaran McGuigan.
The FDC1 armchair
The sculptural lounge chair fashioned from powder-coated steel and leather has had a revival thanks to French furniture brand Objekto. Stella Roos considers its history – and its designer – Brazilian architect and artist…
Marion Stora, Spacon & X, The Good Plastic Company
We meet French interior architect and furniture designer Marion Stora and the founders of multidisciplinary studio Spacon & X to discuss their collaborations with fashion. Plus: The Good Plastic company shares how we might…
Two-wheel oasis
Grace Charlton reflects on a recent trip to Amsterdam – a city often hailed as an oasis, where those on two wheels rule the streets. But does this emphasis on bikes make traversing the metropolis any better for pedestrians…
Designing for timelessness: Part 1
Nic Monisse presents highlights from recent panels held at V-Zug shops in London and Hong Kong. Architects and designers discuss the notion of timelessness and how this informs their practice.
Finland’s forests
Why does timber perform a key role in the country’s economy and how has the raw material shaped the nation’s creativity and furniture-making? Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent, Petri Burtsoff, joins Nic Monisse to discuss…
Jewellery special
We meet Los Angeles-based jeweller Suzanne Kalan and renowned designer Ileana Makri in Athens. We also speak with Fernando Jorge, who shares details about his travelling exhibition with Sotheby’s.
‘Typographic Jazz: The Monoprints of Jack Stauffacher’
An exhibition at the Letterform Archive in San Francisco delves into the improvisational and playful processes of Bay Area printer Jack Stauffacher, who demonstrated the creative potential of the letterpress.
John Pomp, Marina Raphael, Maxime d’Angeac
Glassblower John Pomp and luxury bag designer Marina Raphael join us in the studio. Plus: we meet Maxime d’Angeac, the architect reinterpreting the historic Orient Express.
Bland rebrand
Writer Grace Charlton laments why boring redesigns often rob cafés, restaurants and homes of a sense of place.
Richard Erdman’s studio, Jayden Ali, wool and leather
We visit a sculptor’s studio in Vermont and meet UK architect and exhibition designer Jayden Ali. Plus: we discuss the benefits of wool and leather with two Canadian brands.
Collect
We visit the contemporary craft and design fair celebrating its 20th anniversary at Somerset House.
Maggie’s, ‘100 Women: Architects in Practice’
Maggie’s centres have provided cancer care in uplifting, design-led architectural environments for the past 28 years. We visit the newest site designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. Plus: a new title from the Royal Inst…
‘Suspended Disbelief’
The late sculptor and furniture maker Wendell Castle is the focus of an exhibition at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London.
