My plastics at home: part 1.

Inspired by a blog written by Carla Flack, Sculpture and Installation Art Conservator, Tate, I decided to investigate some of my own plastics at home, to see if I could identify what materials they are made from and (hopefully) find out more about their history. For my first object, I selected this toy piano and stool (see image below), both pieces from a collection of doll’s house furniture originally owned by my Aunt. 

Image ref: A doll’s house piano and stool.
Image credit: K. Pell

I started by examining MoDiP’s online guide to Identifying Plastics. I find this a really useful resource that provides a list of potential materials based on the answers to a series of questions. You can narrow down the possibilities by considering things like when the object was made, what it looks and feels like and whether it has any distinguishing marks.

Image ref: Ejector pin marks (created when the warm moulding was released from its mould) on the bottom of the piano.

My original guess of 1950s polystyrene seemed to bear out: the piano is extremely lightweight, brittle, creates a ‘metallic’ sound when tapped and has visible injection moulding marks underneath (see image below).

It is also possible to see the gate (where the molten plastic entered the mould) and how the material flowed – excuse the colour discrepancies in my photography!

Image ref: (left) the injection moulding ‘gate’, (right) the gate is at the bottom of the photo and you can see how the material flowed into the mould.
Image credit: K.Pell

Next, I wanted to find out more about who had made the object and, rather conveniently, they had signed their name on the sheet music (see image below). An online search resulted in my finding an article written about Kleeware by Percy Reboul, published in the Plastiquarian, the journal of the Plastics Historical Society.

Image ref: The piano was made by Kleeware.
Image credit: K.Pell

I was able to ascertain that this company was founded in 1938, initially producing cellulose acetate combs and phenol and urea formaldehyde ashtrays using the trade name Kabroloid and later, Kleeware. They made radio components for the Ministry of Defence during WWII and afterwards expanded their range to include small toys and dolls which were sold to Woolworths and exported around the world. In 1959, the company was sold to Rosedale Plastics, a rival toy manufacturer.

I also found some great advertisements including these two below, referencing the actual plastics materials used in the production of these toys.

Image ref: (left) 1949 advert for Kleeware doll's house furniture, (right) 1952 advert for the British Industries' Fair
Image credit: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/O._and_M._Kleemann and https://www.planetdiecast.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=kleeware-in-pictureshtml&Itemid=2435

It seems that plagiarism was common amongst toy manufacturers in the immediate post-war years and many, including Kleeware, were known to have ‘borrowed’ designs from other companies. That makes it particularly difficult to try and identify information when they did not brand their products. I am so glad my Aunt looked after her toys so well, preserving the paper sheet music that could so easily have become detached and which provided a vital clue.

If you would like to try and find out some more about your own plastics objects, why not start with MoDiP’s curator’s guide, which explains what plastics are and how to go about identifying them. We’d love to hear how you get on. 

Katherine Pell, Museum Collections Officer.

 

References:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Y95laWk98uoC&pg=PA206&lpg=PA206&dq=the+kleeware+story&source=bl&ots=VN8nVjN8Ip&sig=ACfU3U1GzUYo33KrQw4VQ7o1Uc3Bb2NJIw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiwmJiY-sTpAhUHXMAKHe2gAK4Q6AEwBnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20kleeware%20story&f=false

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1158797/doll-kleeware/

https://www.dollshousespastandpresent.co.uk/Magazine/Issue-21-June-2014/Page-8

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/O._and_M._Kleemann

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Rosedale_Associated_Manufacturers

https://icon.org.uk/groups/modern-materials-network/icon-mmn-blogs

https://www.modip.ac.uk/projects/curators-guide/identifying-plastics

http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/671193.6.1

https://www.planetdiecast.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=kleeware-in-pictureshtml&Itemid=2435

http://plastiquarian.com/

https://www.usdimestore.com/

 

Sewing Machines – fabulous in form and function

In this current time of staying and working at home, certain objects have become increasingly important to our lives. We are advised to use certain objects, for example soap, hand sanitisers and masks. These objects have become vital to how we live. 

In our homes, certain objects may have become particularly significant as their use supports our different and changed ways of living. The kettle, the washing up-liquid bottle and the tin-opener may be used more frequently and their efficiency and ease of use can make things that little more comfortable. We may find that we are revisiting and reviewing our acquaintance with certain objects: that we are increasingly reassessing their use and value. For example a range of plastic and glass packaging and containers, such as lidded plastic yoghurt pots and large plastic milk cartons, may now be readily kept, repurposed, upcycled and used again throughout the home as their value is reconsidered. We may discover an object long stored away and long overlooked that can now be used readily with greater purpose as our needs shift. As such the padded coat hanger and the Swan Brand stainless steel teapot are convenient designs that may now see greater use. Some items can be used across different contexts, for example the bulldog clip is a useful item to clasp paper together in the home office whilst being a rather handy tool to hold other things together more generally, including to help seal food packets and to nip back loose clothing and curtains. 

Interestingly the Victoria and Albert Museum’s current project ‘Pandemic Objects’, and the accompanying blog, explores ‘objects that have taken on new meaning and purpose during the coronavirus outbreak.’ Some of the objects identified include chairs, skipping ropes and toilet rolls. The blog’s short texts discuss the significance of the objects in the pandemic and they also provide some thought-provoking personal insights and facts about the objects. 

The Victoria and Albert museum include the sewing machine as a pandemic object in its pandemic objects blog as sewing machines have seen increased use in the home in recent months, and the sale of machines has increased significantly since the onset of lockdown. The Japan Times reported in April 2020 that ‘Demand for sewing machines jumps on rise in DIY face masks’ and that sewing machine manufacturer ‘Brother Sales Ltd. saw a 30 percent rise in orders for sewing machines in February and March compared with last year.’ Sewing machines have become particularly popular as people make things and as author Knott (2020) comments ‘From a quick online search, sewing machines are currently out of stock – or in very limited availability – from most major UK suppliers, as many people have sought to buy one during lockdown’. 

Like others, I have rolled out my preferred sewing machine: a 1903 hand cranked Singer with golden decorative transfer designs; a machine that operates using a shining bullet-like shaped shuttle bobbin case; and a sewing machine that is housed in what is called a coffin case (owing to its particular box design). I delight in its smooth functionality and its sturdy reliability. This old object, that only sews one type of stitch, just keeps on sewing for miles and provides hours of entertainment whilst reassuringly serving important needs. 

To search out old sewing machines is an enjoyment in itself and the website for AUB’s Museum of Design in Plastics, includes some interesting examples manufactured in plastics. For example the E-Z sewing machine MoDiP artefact aibdc-000798 made in China c. 1998, is a small hand-held design that offers easy sewing (Fig. 1). The text on the machine’s accompanying box (Fig. 2) states that the design is for ‘doing super jobs on the spot’ and proclaims ‘The most fantastic tool that you’ll ever own’. Likewise, the RoncoTM cordless portable sewing machine, c. 1973, sold in UK Woolworths stores is another example of an inexpensive machine for quick and undemanding work. 

Fig. 1. E-Z sewing machine, c.1998. Image: copyright MoDiP.

Fig. 2. E-Z sewing machine box, c.1998. Image: copyright MoDiP. 

MoDiP’s sewing machine and sewing-related collection includes the portable electric sewing machine designed by Ernst Fischer that is part of the Plastics Historical Society (PHS) collection that is held by MoDiP (artefact number PHSL : 225) (fig. 3 and fig. 4). According to the Museum of Modern Art (USA) online collection listing (2020) this intriguing design was manufactured by VEB Ernst- Thälmann-Werke, Suhl, DDR East Germany in the c.1950s. The sewing machine, made of steel, has a clever fold out design and its brown plastic carrying case ‘which converts to a working surface, is made of compression moulded phenol formaldehyde and has a leather carrying handle.’ (MoDiP). This design would serve many a home well today perhaps with its compact unobtrusive design. 

Fig. 3. Portable sewing machine designed by Fischer, Germany. Image: copyright MoDiP. 

Fig. 4. Portable sewing machine designed by Fischer, Germany. Image: copyright MoDiP. 

So the rise in sewing has seen a greater interest in sewing machines, and designs old and new are enjoying greater use today. Increasingly we may see greater reappraisal and reuse -or further use - of design objects within the home to help make our lives more efficient, comfortable, safe and reassuring. Maybe we will see the popularity of other objects flourishing as our needs and preferences change and develop.

As a design historian with a passion for design and object-based learning (OBL) I am researching how the use of objects in the home is developing and changing within the context of the current pandemic. I welcome anyone who would like to work with me on this intriguing journey – please don’t hesitate to contact me: khardie@aub.ac.uk 

In the meantime, I am back to my treasured old Edwardian era Singer sewing machine to keep me happy in the evenings .... whilst I wonder where exactly I can track down a 1950s Fischer portable sewing machine to buy...... 

And if you are revisiting your sewing machine and would like some guidance on how to maintain it, have a look at this blog 'How to oil a sewing machine: a step-by-step guide'.

 

Dr Kirsten Hardie, Associate Professor, Arts University Bournemouth

 

Dr Kirsten Hardie is a UK National Teaching Fellow and is Associate Professor at Arts University Bournemouth. Kirsten is recognised internationally for her object-based learning pedagogic practice and research. Kirsten created Arts University Bournemouth’s original design museum and is an avid collector of design.

References

The Japan Times. (2020). Demand for sewing machines jumps on rise in DIY face masks. April 21. [online]. Available from:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/04/21/business/demand-sewing-machines-diy-masks/ [Accessed 13 June 2020]. 

Knott, Becky. (2020). Pandemic Objects: Sewing Machine. [online]. Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/design-and-society/pandemic-objects-sewing-machine. [Accessed 12 June 2020]. 

Museum of Design in Plastics. (2020). E-Z sewing machine. [online]. Available from:  https://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/aibdc-000798 [Accessed 12 June 2020]. 

Museum of Design in Plastics. (2020). Fisher Sewing Machine. [online] Available from: https://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/phsl-225 [Accessed 12 June 2020]. 

Museum of Modern Art. (2020). 

Victoria and Albert Museum. (2020). Pandemic Objects. [online]. Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/pandemic-objects [Accessed 12 June 2020]. 

Communicating loud and clear

Continuing with our Life goes on… theme, I’d like to share the many ways in which we, the team at MoDiP, have been adapting and further developing our means of communication with students, staff and everyone we work with and for – not to mention our public audiences - over the last few months, as we embrace everything digital.

 

Teams, AUB’s software of choice, has allowed us to chat, meet and share our work on an ongoing basis, so we have been able to support each other, and in many ways, it has made us stronger and more dynamic as a team. Only our dedicated Collections Officer has been able to go into the museum in person during lockdown, as she needs to regularly monitor the objects.

 

But never before have social media streams, online resources, and video conferencing and presentation software, played such a key role in the delivery of our museum services.

 

And, being responsible for Museum Digital Communications, I am pleased – as well as privileged - to be able to play my part and step up to face these new challenges alongside my colleagues.

LP High Pitch Jam Block
- usually played alongside a drum kit and makes an incredibly loud and clear sound

Not being able to deliver a practical ‘High Performance Plastics’ session (which was to include demonstration of the High Pitch Jam Block pictured above) to students in person early into lockdown, inspired me to produce a bespoke, audio enhanced version which I’m delighted to say went down a treat with Product Design, Design Engineering and Mechanical Engineering students over with our neighbours at Bournemouth University. 

‘Superduper’ 
- the super hero character with carbon fibre running blades, created by artist Jake Rowlinson, used to engage school children with our Cultural Hub project and
‘Being Me: plastics and the body’ exhibition

As it became clear home-schooling and much reduced class sizes had to be addressed regarding the delivery of our Cultural Hub project ‘Plastics for every body’, we decided to recreate school resources in a digital format.  I really enjoyed producing audio enhanced presentations for the project including a virtual exhibition of ‘Being me: plastics and the body’.  Having stayed in close contact with Cultural Hub teachers, I was able to keep my ear to the ground and provide resources – with appropriate content and format - for all Cultural Hub primary school children whatever their circumstances however challenging. 

A special thank you to my team mates for your encouragement and support along the way – very much appreciated as ever.

Philips D 8007 'The Roller' radio cassette recorder
- used in our #MuseumWeek  PR campaign to communicate loud and clear (with a ghetto blaster!) that our collections continue to be accessible online

And PR campaigns like the international #MuseumWeek and ‘Life goes on @ MoDiP’ have kept us focussed on what we need to be saying 'loud and clear' to our larger public audiences as well as to our colleagues and students here at AUB. Our virtual collections and exhibitions continue to be accessible 24/7 and we are continually adapting how we work and how we provide resources – most importantly, for our own university community, whether it is delivered directly to our students or working alongside academic, professional and gallery staff.

 

Julia Pulman, Digital Communications Officer.

Provocative Plastics

Sparkling chair

There’s always work to be done if you work in a museum. One of the things I love about a museum career is its variety – researching the collection, working out how to add to it effectively, telling stories about it, talking to people who are interested in its subject area and making sure it’s safe. It has been intriguing to find that in lockdown we have been able to do most of our work from home. Communication with the museum’s audience has been different but perhaps equally effective: our Curator did a webinar with an attendance of 88 people, much larger than we would have got had she been speaking in the museum. There are though some queries we can’t answer without looking at the objects themselves. That provides a welcome reminder that they constitute the museum’s heart and that physical contact with them is essential.

Kate Ward tote

Shortly before lockdown came into force Palgrave Macmillan gave us a contract for the book, Provocative plastics: their value in design and material culture with a deadline of 1 June. It is the book of the conference held at the Arts University Bournemouth in 2015 and is due to be published this December. We are proud of its international character with contributors form Australia, Brazil, Germany and Norway as well as from closer to home.

It adopts a new approach to exploring plastics’ contribution, good and bad, by focusing on their value from two perspectives: as a medium for making and in societal use. The first explores the multivalent nature of plastics materiality and their impact on creativity through the work of artists, designers and manufacturers. The second explores attitudes to plastics and the different value systems applied to them through current research undertaken by design, materials and socio-cultural historians. Plastics have now been the most used materials group for over 50 years. The book addresses the impact of their abundance on world sustainability and elucidates ways in which they can and must be part of the solution.

Banana Leaf oval lid

As the book’s editor, I feel very lucky. There was so much to do to meet the deadline that I was bound to be in my personal lockdown whatever was happening in the wider world. It gave me something to focus on when otherwise life could have been much tougher. The wonderful weather helped but, as I emerge from the tunnel I have been in and relax with the eternal task of the index, I am sorry that it has taken to being dull and rainy although when it does rain I am very grateful on behalf of my garden.

A recent game has been choosing an image for the cover. All the MoDiP team and some of our families joined in with rating potential images. There are three frontrunners – one represents a beach ball in the form of a globe on the sea shore; another shows a stack of very obviously orange plastic chairs again on a beach; and the last one shows a collection of watering cans, mainly green but with the odd blue and orange one too. It will be interesting to see what is chosen in the end.

Susan Lambert, Chief Curator, MoDiP

Still engaging with audiences

Attila Stool

Before the enforced COVID19 closures, I had been arranging for the ICON Modern Materials Network to visit MoDiP. The day would have included a talk from Fran Conrad, Course Leader for the MA Design and Innovation at the AUB, a visit to the AUB’s workshop to look at 3D printing, and a session looking at the newly installed Materials Library set up by the AUB library team.  We were really looking forward to welcoming the group to MoDiP, but it wasn’t to be.

E Series Chair

As you can imagine, I was over the moon to subsequently be invited to join a series of webinars held initially by ICON’s Book & Paper Group, but opened up to the other ICON specialist groups.  The series of talks comes under the heading of Conservation: Together at Home, and it was great to reach out to this audience and introduce them to MoDiP.  We have quite a small space so we would not have been able to accommodate the nearly 90 people who attended.

Beetleware cruet

If you would like to watch the talk, it is available on the Conservation: Together at Home webpage and sits alongside some other really interesting presentations. 

We are enjoying the opportunity to explore new ways of engaging with people but we do miss all of our students, colleagues, visiting researchers, external groups, and the general public.

Until we meet again.

Louise Dennis, Curator of MoDiP

Sand Play

Scrunch-bucket

Although cultural venues have had to close their doors for the time being, there is still work going on behind the scenes: our Collections Officer is still keeping a careful eye on the physical state of MoDiP’s collections, with periodic visits to ensure that there are no problems; plans are being made for a new way of working once the university re-opens; and the team is still researching, acquiring objects and writing in preparation for the next exhibition. 

We have had to rethink the timing of our forthcoming exhibitions but we still plan to offer ‘Beside the Sea’ at a timely point in the year, to coincide with other cultural events on offer in the local area. 

One of the subjects we will be looking at for this particular exhibition, is the ubiquitous bucket and spade. Generations of kids have trundled to the beach armed with a whole host of kit, in that heady anticipation of being free to play, dig, build sand castles, and then run to the water’s edge to fetch water for the moat...only to pour it in and find that, disappointingly, it immediately sinks into the sand. But, undaunted, the attempt to fill up that carefully crafted moat continues, keeping kids occupied for hours. 

Buckets and spades are a necessity in this pursuit, and I have been finding out that there is a huge range on offer. From the cheap and cheerful variety, which if you are lucky will last to the end of the holiday (or summer if you are fortunate enough to live near the beach),  to the more thoughtfully designed and produced sand sets, intended to last season after season, to be handed down to younger siblings and even through the generations.  

It is noticeable though that the cheap and cheerful examples, which can often be bought from beachside outlets, are brightly coloured and very appealing to children, whilst the more costly ones, perhaps made from eco-friendly materials such as plastics made from sugar cane, are often made in more subdued colours. 

Moby scooper
Shelley sifter
Ray shovel

It would be interesting to know which ones kids would pick and which ones parents would choose. What are the features which makes one decide to buy one thing over another? 

Children are increasingly environmentally conscious and perhaps would choose something which would endure rather than subscribe to that throw away culture which we are all now weaning ourselves off. Perhaps that’s an experiment for next year. 

Meanwhile, the work continues and even though we are unable to be with you in a real sense, MoDiP’s exhibitions and collections are always available to you through the website and the team is keeping in touch through social media. 

Pam Langdown

Documentation Officer

‘Plastics for every body’ - a collaborative approach is always the best approach

Never has collaboration been so important with regards to how we are working at MoDiP.  During these extraordinary times, we have pulled together, reached out to our partner organisations and pushed and blended the boundaries of our roles for the better good of our students, schools, researchers and public.

For me personally, that meant making my newly written Cultural Hub project ‘Plastics for every body’ - about how plastics can help keep us safe, able and alive - available for teachers and their classes in a new and accessible way.

  

'Superduper' Super Hero character sporting running blades. 
By artist and illustrator, Jake Rowlinson.

I wanted to support the amazing work that our Cultural Hub teachers have been doing lately, by providing the project in a digital format, so it could easily be delivered to children either in school or to those being home-schooled. At this point I would like to thank teachers at Heathlands Primary Academy, West Howe, and Canford Heath Infants for their invaluable advice and support regarding the most effective formats and content to use to reach our local children (some living in particularly challenging circumstances).  You know who you are – so thanks a million and I’ve been clapping you on Thursday evenings.

Another collaboration that MoDiP continues to enjoy is the special working relationship we have with Martin Brown, Horrible Histories illustrator. Martin has yet again done us proud, and provided us with a brilliant drawing of the now familiar ‘Mo the MoDiP girl’ for this project.  Thank you, Martin!

Mo, the MoDiP girl wearing her protective scooter gear (made of different plastics) 

by Horrible Histories illustrator Martin Brown.

And a new and exciting young artist Jake Rowlinson, has also very generously created a stunning illustration of a super hero called ‘Superduper’ (see illustration header) with carbon fibre running blades for us to use for the project - making it just that little bit more exciting for everyone. Thanks Jake, and sorry we won’t get to see you play in your band at Wimborne Folk Festival this year…

Pre COVID-19, the project ‘Plastics for every body’ was to be centred around a museum handling collection and was to include artist-led workshops, with over 500 school children (Years 2 – 4) from five Cultural Hub schools enjoying a museum experience delivered in school, in conjunction with our current exhibition ‘Being me: plastics and the body’ 

Synthetic foot from the exhibition ‘Being me: plastics and the body’

Object number: AIBDC 008380

After a dramatic rethink of how we might still be able to deliver this project virtually, and to increase the project’s reach, the content has been rewritten and reproduced with the aim of engaging all primary key stage levels across 15 Cultural Hub schools - so hundreds more children will now be able to enjoy and be inspired by a museum experience provided by MoDiP.

The resources for ‘Plastics for every body’ can be printed out and/or followed on screen (presentations have audio options and are also available via YouTube) both for home-schooling and for use in the classroom.  So, whether children have access to a laptop or just a smart phone – or no access to technology at all and are receiving printed resource packs from school - no child will be excluded. And, with Wellbeing a top priority for school children, a mixture of creative activities and physical mini breaks have been incorporated.

These resources are only available to Cultural Hub schools at this time – so maybe some non-member schools will read this, and be encouraged to join the Cultural Hub collaboration.

Having an excellent working relationship with the Cultural Hub and member schools has been invaluable for MoDiP and demonstrates just how important true collaboration is.  Having worked as an active member of the Cultural Hub last year to create and deliver our Eco-plastic Detective project, I was delighted to have this opportunity to develop yet another one – especially in these extra challenging times for teachers.  We are thankful to the Cultural Hub for reapportioning MoDiP’s funding for this project – and hope it benefits our local children and inspires many future AUB creatives. 

Julia Pulman, Digital Communications Officer, Museum of Design in Plastics.