Friday Finds 1.15.10

Aaron: Vintageadbrowser.com

If you've got a soft spot for the print ads of yesteryear, then this is the site for you. Vintageadbrowser goes back a century and has all manner of advertising from clothes to sports to food to appliances. I've gotten the biggest kick out of the 1950s ads for household goods, though I am also nuts for this long series of Barbasol ads, whose dapper, clean-shaven guys and cheesecake dolls make me want to lather up right now. A site like this merits numerous return visits, and poster design fans should find plenty to like in the sports section, particularly from the 1930s and '40s.

Michele: Letterheady

My old coworker Jason Sacher over at Chronicle Books turned me on to this concise ode to the design of professional correspondence curated by Shaun Usher. See the papers—some fanciful, some straightforward, and some downright creepy—that the likes of Albert Einstein, Lawrence Welk, Johnny Cash, and other luminaries put their pens to. I'm particularly fond of the 1971 stationery of Orlando's Contemporary Hotel and the playful bouncy Cs of the Columbus, Indiana, visitors center.

Jordan: Melu! at Heimtextil

I'm in snowy, lovely Frankfurt this week for Heimtextil, the world's largest international textile trade fair and wowza, this exhibition is epic: over 2,600 exhibitors from almost 60 nations represented. One of my favorite booths today was located in the print-and-pattern wonderland of the Design hall. "Melu!" ('Noise!' in Finnish) featured the work of 17 textile design students at the Turku University of Applied Sciences in Finland (including a few exchange students), who created 15 surface designs each. I loved leafing through the stacks and piles of their awesome work. More to come from Frankfurt, stay tuned!

Miyoko: Design Fantasies for Obsolete Bay Bridge Span

Once the new eastern section of the San Francisco Bay Bridge is completed in 2013, the old span (which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places) is slated to be dismantled at the cost of $240 million. Earlier this week, San Francisco Chronicle urban design writer and Dwell contributor John King published a great piece about reuse ideas for the span proposed by graduate students at UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design. Based on the success of last year's opening of the High Line, which turned former railroad tracks running through Manhattan into a public park and walkway, the students dreamed up solutions ranging from hotels to shopping malls to farms. Check out this great article and the accompanying slideshow to see the ideas.

Sarah: Heath and Architecture for Humanity Team Up for Haiti Relief

This week's news has been dominated by the disaster in Haiti, and while it's easy to feel helpless in the face of so much devastation, there's one way to help that is easy and perfectly suited to all you Dwell readers. The beloved and always stunning Heath Ceramics has pledged 25% of all their sales from now through Sunday to supporting the reconstruction effort through Architecture for Humanity. This give something-get something offer means you can finally get that gorgeous vase you've always wanted, while contributing a bit of assistance to a community in need.

Amanda: Bertelli Biciclette Assemblate

This link was sent to me by Amy Silberman, Dwell's Photo Editor, so it's really HER friday find. I am just the messenger. This site features the gorgeous work created by designer and bicycle uber-lover Francesco Bertelli, who scours flea markets and other out-of-the-way locales to find vintage parts, which he then combines with new to lovingly assemble and fine-tune each one-of-a-kind creation.