They say the week between Christmas and New Years is a slow news week... Well, that really worked to our advantage when The Age published a story about the pop-up trend featuring Modern Times! Published Thursday 29th December, our picture was emblazoned across a large proportion of page 4. Us! in The Age!! Thanks to everyone who popped in after seeing it and to all our new newsletter subscribers. If you missed it you can read the whole article online here.

If you are anything like me, you have barely started on your Christmas shopping. Eek! Well, I guess I have an unfair head start with all the beautiful pieces in the shop right at my fingertips... Here are some of my faves that are still available. What could be a better gift than something gorgeous - designed and made in Melbourne!

So, the pics of the opening are all very nice but what about pics of STUFF! I thought it was worth posting a few pics of the shop all set up and looking pretty. With pieces flying out of the shop at a rapid rate, it won't look this pretty for very long! I'm not sure the pics do our little shop justice but if you can't make it in and see it for yourself, they will just have to do!

We've upped the ante with our second pop-up shop, this time in Collingwood. It is a big beautiful shop in the heart of Smith Street and we opened the doors last Friday night with a great turn out. It was a great night and a nice warm-up to a very busy weekend! Thank you to everyone who has paid us a visit thus far and we look forward to meeting more of you over the next three weeks. Now for some pics of the opening!

This is an "official announcement". No, not really, but I was just organising a press release and thought I may as well post a bit of a version on here as a formal way of saying we are ON from December 10th!

The Danish style sofa has become somewhat of an interior decorating staple. At Modern Times, we love a well-worn leather sofa but you can find brand-spanking-new leather sofas from long-running Danish manufacturers, Mogens Hansen and Stouby, or Australian vintage versions from manufacturers like Fler and Tessa. We have selected some fabulous Danish leather sofas, which will be available at our upcoming pop-up shop.

It seems that against my best intentions of being a constant and regular blogger, I actually fit more into the category of intermittent and slack blogger. I guess it's not too late to change my ways! In Melbourne the season is changing and we are getting a very welcome dose of sunny days. As we are plotting and planning our next pop-up for December, I find the sunshine so uplifting, an inspiring force! I am pretty damn excited about our upcoming shop and the details will be revealed soon (as soon as we work them out!) In the meantime, I thought I'd post some inspiring images of sunny mid-century style.

A belated thankyou!

Ellie's gorgeous balloon prints have created quite a splash. Even before they were pictured in a feature on Modern Times on The Design Files, everyone who came into the shop was drawn to these striking yet calming artworks. At 120 x 80cm they are the biggest linocuts I have come across!  

The day finally came for us to take down the newspaper off our windows (although we did almost forget!) and open our doors to the public. A good crowd enjoyed the generosity of MOJO wines and Cricketers Arms Lager whilst browsing the Modern Times wares and listening to the soulful tunes of Mamacita Bonnita.

Hey, thanks for stopping by. We'd like to invite you to our opening night launch party.

Look out for our poster and postcards on the streets of Melbourne.

Neil and Aisling from 'designed in brunswick' give us some insight into what has influenced and inspired their designs and how they come up with those fantastic names!

The Robin Boyd Foundation will host an open day - Designs for Warrandyte – on 15^th May, 2011. Six houses, designed for various arty types, including Boyd’s childhood home, will be open to visit. I think this will be a great opportunity to gain an insight into Boyd’s work, a visionary and leader in Melbourne’s Modern Architecture movement!

Modernism has laid the way for the minimalist clean lines and open plan living that is still the dominant style of new buildings and interiors today. Why have the ideas of modernism had such an enduring influence?

There are many ways to incorporate a bit of mid-century style into your home. Whether you like your space all out retro or slick and contemporary. Check out these images for some inspiration.

Hello everyone. I am excited to be writing the first Modern Times blog post. I guess I should introduce myself! My name is Amy and I'm one half of Modern Times. I am really looking forward to opening the first mid-century furniture pop-up shop in Melbourne. We have hand-selected stunning designer pieces and imported them from directly from Denmark, there is an emphasis on pieces from the most well known designers such as Arne Vodder and H J Wegner although there is many pieces from lesser known designers and manufacturers. Browse the website to see many of the pieces although there will be many more in store.