I can't believe it's been almost four years since I first wrote a post about Memphis design... At the time I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, leaping into the void. There was still something so raw and surreal about all those sharp edges and blazing bright colors. Fast forward to the riot of color that is the 2014 Pantone Palette, and Memphis seems old hand. Maybe.
Modern Memphis is still playful, but a lot more polished. These sculptural lamps by Damm Design provide the perfect foil to old, dark, and dirty (You know I'm down with ODD).
That's not to say that Modern Memphis is totally tamed... it still has all the angular bite of the original iteration.
Maybe with just a little less color.
Get all the flavor and only some of the crazy with pillows by Safe House USA, a Kelly Behun style supergraphic, or Christian May's appropriately titled Memphis wallpaper produced by Black Crow Studios.
Or don't hide your love for the Memphis... trick it out a la Kelly Wearstler. Hello venus flytrap lamp! That thing is a man eater for sure.
Perhaps you're feeling a little gun shy about reliving the Esprit era? Don't get your graffiti tights in a wad. Relax. There's something for everyone.
Gray Malin's photography is pretty.
Robert Couturier also loves my favorite Clarence House fabric ever.
And Kelly Wearstler is pretty much just Ettore Sottsass with high heels.
My own brush with Memphis? Just this pair of Beetlejuice chairs I bought in the middle of a dirt field, strapped Beverly Hillbillies style to the top of my car, and drove 100 miles home to meet my husband who was SO HAPPY to see them.
Ok, that last part is a lie but the rest is truth. Commitment is what it's all about. Do something outside of your comfort zone. Push it. Push it real good.
Just don't get divorced in the process.