A Better Boom Box
OB–4 Magic Radio at The Place
Teenage Engineering, the Swedish design house beloved by audiophiles, delights in playful contradictions. The OB–4 looks like a $650 Bluetooth speaker with a 1980s carry handle, yet it hides serious technology for sampling and music production. The speaker memorizes everything played on an endless looping tape, letting users rewind FM radio or remix a favorite track. Its muscular volume and crisp sound make it as powerful as it is whimsical. Find it at The Place in Indio, a community marketplace of multi-brand offerings from pottery to sustainable clothing.
Photo COURTESY TEENAGE ENGINEERING
Photo courtesy H3K HOME+DESIGN
Sign Me Up
Motels were once roadside attractions. Pools, color TVs, and air conditioning blowing vinyl curtains beside coin-operated vibrating beds were considered luxuries. David Travis Studio translates those memories into vintage-inspired signs made of acrylic on birch. Measuring several feet wide and high, the signs exude the joy of their vintage roadside counterparts. Find them at H3K Home+Design in Palm Springs.
Photo courtesy house of rex
Space Age Spice
Salt or pepper grinder at Haus of Rex
Years before the moon landing, 1960s Italy produced rocket-shaped pepper mills in teak with brass accents. Today they’re rare — and pricey — finds. In homage to those originals, this aerodynamic grinder, fashioned in the U.K. from solid beech wood, has landed in Palm Springs. At 14 inches tall, its tapered form conceals an adjustable ceramic mechanism worth its salt — and equally reliable for pepper. Get yours at Haus of Rex in Palm Springs.
Rainbow Connected
HIGGINS GLASS RONDELAYS AT BOOMERANG FOR MODERN
Linked circles and squares of richly hued glass inset with brass rings, Rondelays have brightened interiors since Francis and Michael Higgins debuted them in the early 1950s. Handcrafted in their Illinois studio, the six- and nine-inch Rondelays gleam in 85 colors and assemble in endless combinations. “There is a whimsy and a cheerfulness about them that’s hard to explain. They just make you smile,” says David Skelley, owner of Boomerang for Modern in Palm Springs. “The effect is stunning when multiple colors are joined together, and they remain a wonderful addition to period modern interiors — whether against a white wall, hung in a window, or used as a space divider.”
Photo by BRANDON HARMAN
Photo COURTESY IITTALA
Finnish Your Drink
Iittala ultima thule glassware at Phylum
“Iittala is one of our most popular retro brands,” says Jory Edmunds, owner of Uptown Design District shop Phylum. “The Ultima Thule glassware gets a ton of ‘Wow, my parents — or grandparents — had these!’ reactions.” Inspired by the beauty of his native Finland, Tapio Wirkkala’s 1968 collection captures the melting ice and snow of Lapland in sculpted glass. He spent nearly a thousand hours with glassblowers perfecting the process, ensuring each piece reflects Nordic nature — ideal for drinks best served on ice.
Lawn on Style
Classic lawn chair from Moma
Afternoons by the lake and evenings around a campfire come to mind in this revival of a nearly forgotten design. Woven polypropylene panels stretch across a lightweight aluminum frame, making the chair easy to carry from sun to shade. Offered exclusively through the MoMA Design Store, the chair is hand-assembled in a small family-run workshop and comes in three colorways.
Soft Landings
Perron pillo lounge chair at Design Within Reach
Pillow forts, pillow fights, pillows tucked in the backseat for napping on long drives — childhood memories find a refined echo in this design by French-Canadian talent Willo Perron for Knoll, available at Design Within Reach in Palm Springs. Layers of foam cushions, upholstered in a range of Knoll Textiles, conceal a steel frame engineered for both comfort and intrigue. This elevated take on the everyday pillow comes in two depths, with either a swivel or fixed base, and as a modular sofa.
Well, Jell-O There
Marcella sconce from Sazerac Stitches
Anyone who remembers the glistening molded Jell-O centerpiece of potlucks and family reunions will recognize the silhouette of the Marcella sconce. Handmade in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ribbed ceramic shade — available in seven colors — seems ready to cradle a fruit cocktail. Created exclusively for Sazarec Stitches and finished with brass hardware in their New Orleans workshop, the fixture casts a focused glow over a vanity, brightens a hallway as an uplight, or flanks a bed as a pair.
