Formica Forever
When one imagines a mid-century kitchen, it's difficult not to picture a brightly coloured laminate table with matching chairs at its centre. To fete its 100th anniversary, Formica, the company that pioneered the material, has released a 408-page commemorative picture book chronicling its history. Designed by New York's Pentagram, with perforated pages inspired by a 1960s swatch book, Formica Forever (Metropolis Books) is bursting with vintage print ads and photographs of contemporary projects, interspersed with snippets of prose from authors, including Margaret Atwood and John Updike, to illustrate the material's cultural foothold. The result is a rich source of both nostalgic images and ideas for modern interiors. (Paige MagarreyAzure2013-11-01)Glamour! Durability! Beauty! Sequins! Submarines! The rich and varied history of, yes, Formica, is explored in this perky paperback, Essays by design critics Phil Patton and Alexandra Lange and Peter York, a management consultant and author, bring depth, getting beneath the surface, if you will, of the lowly (or luxurious, depending on your perspective) laminate. Lange explores the essential duality of Formica by delving into the real meaning of luxury: "Is it rosewood and leather, silk and lacquer, gold leaf and silver? Or is it the freedom from the cost of installing and maintaining these fine natural materials...?" The jury is still out on that one but I'm guessing the ability to pay for someone to maintain those natural materials is the ultimate luxury for many. York argues that as the  "wipe-clean" material, Formica became a symbol not only of low maintenance but of societal progress. In his detailed and comprehensive historical essay, Patton recounts the materials struggle for popularity throughout its history as in the 60s when "a rebellious generation sought the natural, the organic...[Formica] was, after all, the material of their parents." (Allison ArieffDesigners & Books2013-10-04)"A portable exhibition" is how Pentagram's Abbott Miller describes the book he designed that commemorates the 100th anniversary of Formica. With more than 400 archival images, Formica Forever tells the story of the now-ubiquitous laminate. Developed in 1913 as a substitute "for mica," it was first employed in the manufacture of electrical insulation. As the understanding of Formica's capabilities expanded beyond utility and new applications brought pattern, texture, and color "to the table," as Miller puts it, the material began to be used for interiors and consumers products.  Essays by Phil Patton, Alexandra Lange, and Peter York address, respectively, the history of the company, the adoption of the laminate by modern architects and designers, and how Formica encouraged the postwar ideal of an easy-upkeep world. (Steve KroeterSurface Magazine2013-10-01)Durable, colorful, and easy to clean, Formica laminate - kraft paper that has been dipped in resin, coated with melamine, compressed, and heated - is all around us, as illustrated Formica Forever (Metropolis), a celebration of the company's centennial. Packed with irresistibly kitschy vintage ads, the book details the material's many uses, including in the interior of the QE2, in kitchens and bathrooms across America (remember the ubiquitous boomerang pattern?), and in artwork by contemporary architects Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. (Peter TERZIANELLEDECOR.COM2013-09-01)Ah, the sweet smell of a retro material getting its own celebratory monograph. Formica was born out of the early twentieth century boom in artificial materials, but found its place in popular culture in the boom years following World War 2. Formica became a key component of America's populist modernism, bright, no-fuss, wipe clean and futuristic. The company went worldwide, becoming the power behind pop and a driving force in the DIY drive to reinvent the modern home. Published to celebrate the company's centenary, Formica Forever is a fascinating corporate history allied to an enviable image bank. (Jonathan BellWallpaper.com2013-08-16)