Classic Designs in Plastic

The Panton Chair
Wednesday 24 February 2021, 12pm-12.30pm

The world's first moulded plastic chair, considered to be one of the masterpieces of Danish design, currently forms part of the permanent collections in some of the world's most famous design museums including New York's Museum of Modern Art, London's Design Museum, Berlin's German Historical Museum and Copenhagen's Danish Museum of Art & Design.

Ekco A22 radio
Wednesday 3 March 2021, 12pm-12.30pm

The Ekco type A22 radio was first manufactured in 1945 by E.K. Cole of Southend-on-Sea. The radio has a tuning dial made from PMMA, the case is of 'walnut' bakelite and it has a 'Florentine bronze' loud speaker surround. This was the last of a series of five round designs manufactured by E.K. Cole. The first one, the AD-65, having been designed by architect Wells Coates in 1932. In 1945, the A22 was shown in a moulded green cabinet, a one-off, non-standard colour produced especially for the 'Britain Can Make It' exhibition.

Ericofon telephone 
Wednesday 10 March 2021, 12pm-12.30pm

This cobra-shaped Ericofon telephone was made by Ericsson in the 1950s from ABS. It stands upright on its base and has a one-piece design, with the earpiece at the top. This is the 600 model, with a dial located under the base. The Ericofon was launched in 1956 in Sweden but was brought to the British market in 1980 when it was adopted into the Post Office’s ‘Special Range’ of designer telephones.

Sqezy washing up bottle
Wednesday 17 March, 12pm-12.45pm

First introduced in 1945, the Sqezy bottle marked the introduction of bottles made from LDPE. The production of the Sqezy bottle by Monsanto caused a rapid expansion of the plastic packaging industry, with containers produced to replace glass bottles for shampoos and liquid soaps.