In an era when women were often seen and not heard, let alone noted for design talents, Greta Magnusson Grossman (1906-1999) sustained an inexhaustible forty-year career on two continents, Europe and North America, enjoying achievements in industrial design, interior design and architecture before dropping off the design radar in the 1960s.

C. Jeré, Artisan House and its awesome sculptural works, have become synonymous with mid-century design and contemporary modernist settings. Similarly, it is known for large-scale, ambitious, gallery-quality works of art.

Architect, interior designer and planner, Warren Platner produced a furniture collection that has proved to be a continuing icon of 1960s Modernism. He is also famed with designing several prominent interiors in New York, including headquarter offices for the Ford Foundation building and the original Windows on the World restaurant, atop the World Trade Centre.

Pierre Cardin has been among the five best known Frenchmen in the world since 1960. Born Pietro Cardin to French parents on 7 July, 1922 at San Biagio di Callalta, Venice, he is best known for his avant-garde style and Space-Age designs, preferring geometric shapes and ignoring the constraints of form and surroundings.

Imagination and necessity launched the already successful photographer, Willy Rizzo, into the world of furniture design. As a photographer of playboys and starlets, he had a ready-made customer base eager to build their living quarters around an ultra-modern Rizzo piece and items that remain as timeless as his images.

Elio Martinelli’s ingenious lights have gone on to become 20^th century design icons. As testaments to his enthused vision and refined approach, they boast timeless simplicity and a tangible appreciation for the wide range of materials he utilised. Martinelli’s vintage pieces are sought-after gems for collectors and are constantly inspirational.

Part 2 of my Homage to Pierre Cardin is based on the lamps that bear his name. I have one such lamp on my site, it's the coil or spring lamp made by the Laurel lamp company. The lamp is made from a thin sheet of brass coiled into a small spring shape with a milk glass shade that is attached to the brass (this lamp also comes in a chrome finish). The lamp does not have an etched/laser cut name like the furniture, but instead has a sticker with the Pierre Cardin signature on it.