John and sylvia reid biography

‘Bungalow, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft: with underfloor heating’. Architects' Journal 19 July 1956 pp. 93-98 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘"The Champion", Wells Street, off Oxford Street, London W. 1, restoration & interior re-design’. Architectural Review February 1955 pp. 135-140 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘"The Champion", Wells Street, off Oxford Street, London W. 1, restoration & interior re-design’. The Builder 28 January 1955 p. 163 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘Interior design of the 'Ranelagh' public house, Pimlico, London S. W. 1’. Architectural Review February 1965 pp. 137-140 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

Lambert, Sam. ‘Pub in the pyramid’. Architects’ Journal vol. 161, no. 22, 28 May 1975 pp. 1124-1125 [The Pyamid public house in Stevenage. Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘"The Piazza," Coffee Bar, Marylebone High St., London’. Architectural Design December 1956 p.391 [Designers: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘"The Piazza," Coffee Bar, Marylebone High St., London’. Architect & Building News 1 December 1955 pp. 706-711 [Designers: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘Redecoration and new lighting system for Grosvenor House ballroom, London’. International Lighting Review no. 5, 1962 pp.162-165 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘Renovation of the interior and new lighting system for town hall, Wandsworth, London’. International Lighting Review no. 5, 1962 pp. 157-161 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘Showroom at Thorn House, London WC2’. Architectural Design January 1960 pp. 35-38 [Designers: John and Sylvia Reid] 

‘Two-upmanship’. Architects’ Journal vol. 158, no. 41, 10 October 1973 p]. 844-845 [Westminster Theatre Arts Centre, Westminster, London. Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘West Lodge Park Hotel, Hadley Wood’. Brick Bulletin vol. 10, no. 2, January 1974 pp. 15-19. [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

Rotaflex Triple Pendant Lamp

Materials: 3 Rotaflex (cellulose acetate) lampshades. Black painted iron wire folded into a triangle. Red, yellow light green cones. White plastic canopy. Porcelain E27 sockets.

Cord Length: 80 cm / 31.49’’

Width: 40 cm / 11.02”

Height lamp: 18 cm / 11.02”

Width lamp: ∅ 15 cm / 12.99”

Electricity: 3bulbsE27, 3 x 60 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1950s, 1960s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: Rotaflex Ltd, Rotaflex House, 241 City Road and Princess Street, London,  Great Britain – attributed.

Other versions: This Rotaflex triple pendant lamp exists as a table lamp and wall lamps. Also single pendant lamps were made. Many other lamps exists in this style.

Rotaflex

Rotaflex was founded in 1953 and led by Bernard Stern who brought the company in a few years to one of Britain’s leading lighting makers.

John & Sylvia Reid were two of the most well known consultant designers for the lighting manufacturers Rotaflex. They are famous for their Metallux, Interplay, Honeycombs, Fernland Cylinders, Sphere lamp designs and many more. They also designed many plastic lamps of this type of lamps.

John & Sylvia Reid designed furniture for Stag between 1952 and 1962. Their S-range furniture is back in production. You can find it on their website.

Rotaflex received several design awards. Among others, iF Design awards for cellulose acetate pendant lamps in 1957. The Rotaflex company no longer exists.

Other countries

In the USAHeifetz Manufacturing Company from New York sold these Rotaflex lamps.  They were sold under the Rotaflex name.Most of Heifetz lights are wood carved lamps. Lightolier and Verplex are two other companies that sold these lamps in the United States.

The Heifetz company wasfounded by Yasha Heifetz in 1938, not b

‘Bungalow, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft: with underfloor heating’. Architects' Journal 19 July 1956 pp. 93-98 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘"The Champion", Wells Street, off Oxford Street, London W. 1, restoration & interior re-design’. Architectural Review February 1955 pp. 135-140 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘"The Champion", Wells Street, off Oxford Street, London W. 1, restoration & interior re-design’. The Builder 28 January 1955 p. 163 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘Interior design of the 'Ranelagh' public house, Pimlico, London S. W. 1’. Architectural Review February 1965 pp. 137-140 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

Lambert, Sam. ‘Pub in the pyramid’. Architects’ Journal vol. 161, no. 22, 28 May 1975 pp. 1124-1125 [The Pyamid public house in Stevenage. Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘"The Piazza," Coffee Bar, Marylebone High St., London’. Architectural Design December 1956 p.391 [Designers: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘"The Piazza," Coffee Bar, Marylebone High St., London’. Architect & Building News 1 December 1955 pp. 706-711 [Designers: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘Redecoration and new lighting system for Grosvenor House ballroom, London’. International Lighting Review no. 5, 1962 pp.162-165 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘Renovation of the interior and new lighting system for town hall, Wandsworth, London’. International Lighting Review no. 5, 1962 pp. 157-161 [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘Showroom at Thorn House, London WC2’. Architectural Design January 1960 pp. 35-38 [Designers: John and Sylvia Reid] 

‘Two-upmanship’. Architects’ Journal vol. 158, no. 41, 10 October 1973 p]. 844-845 [Westminster Theatre Arts Centre, Westminster, London. Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

‘West Lodge Park Hotel, Hadley Wood’. Brick Bulletin vol. 10, no. 2, January 1974 pp. 15-19. [Architects: John and Sylvia Reid]

Stag is one of those mid century furniture makers that divides opinion.

If we’re being totally honest, we can see why.

Stag was a brand, like many others at that time, that stood at the crossroads between craftsmanship and mass-production.

The truth about the direction it chose is this: Stag furniture was made en masse and sold for a relatively low price.

Dissenters would argue, then, that it shouldn’t be spoken of in the same breath as some of the great mid century modern designers and manufacturers.

But we would argue that there’s more to it than that.

Yes, it was mass produced. But it was made with quality materials. We’ve handled more than our fair share of vintage Stag furniture so we can attest to that much.

But what’s important to bear in mind here is that Stag wasn’t trying to pretend its furniture was handmade.

If you take a look at a C-Range chest of drawers by John and Sylvia Reid, which is probably our favourite, there is a lovely blend or organic materials and some fairly mechanical shapes.

It's as if they were saying: 'yes, this was built by robots but look at how well they handled the wood.'

And what's more those shapes have aged really well.

So, what then, we ask, is wrong with someone being honest about what they make, how they make it and how they price it? Isn’t that what we want from all our products, especially when they can comfortably last for half a century?

No, these pieces aren’t going to rival the work of the Danish masters.

But they’re solid, they look great and they’re a window onto how mid century furniture designers tried to bridge the gap between how they wanted to work and how the market was changing.

With that in mind, we have decided to answer some pertinent questions about vintage Stag furniture.

Where to Buy Vintage Stag Furniture?

As ever, the first place we will suggest is right here.

We usually have a healthy amount of Stag chest of drawers, Stag sideboards and Stag dressers in our collection.

What’s m