retro-ware

The 20th Century Society has produced these quirky tea towels featuring the K8 telephone kiosk.

The kiosk 8, or K8, was designed by Bruce Martin and first appeared in 1968 as a modern version of the classic K6 red phone box. Its modular style marked a radical change from the previous design and reflected the mood of the 60s.

Of the 12,000 produced only 12 are known to have survived – the Society has launched a search to hunt down any other remaining examples of this classic piece of industrial design.

The tea towels are designed by People Will Always Need Plates who have previously designed ceramics for the V&A and De La Warr Pavilion. The company’s design philosophy is based on creating witty, thoughtful and stylish products as an antithesis to the current proliferation of cheap, throwaway design.

They are priced at £12 including p&p for a pack of two (one each of red and blue), together with a brief history of the phone box written by Gavin Stamp. Proceeds from the sale of the tea towels will be used to support the Society’s campaigns to preserve the best of twentieth century architecture.

Further links

History of the red phone box

Interview with Bruce Martin in Architects Journal