//An early 80s window display by Simon Haynes: Geometrically arranged brightly coloured platforms and ladders//

//This giant "toy" portcullis was produced by Haynes for Practical Styling in the mid-80s//

//Haynes' neo-classical backdrop for another mid-80s display//

These photographs from the archive of artist/set designer Simon Haynes convey the scope and ambition of the great 80s British independent retail outlet Practical Styling, operated by Paul Jones and Tommy Roberts on the ground floor and basement of London’s brutalist CentrePoint building.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Catherine McDermott, CentrePoint, Chris Breward, Paul Jones, Peter Denmark, Practical Styling, Simon Haynes, St Giles-in-the-Fields

//Photo: Tom Sheehan Collection//

As an addendum to my recent post about the staging of the very special late night London concert given by Ian Dury’s art-rock ensemble Kilburn & The High Roads in 1974, here’s the badge commissioned by manager the late Tommy Roberts to flag up the concurrent release of the group’s single Rough Kids.

Then a neglected pop promotional medium – badges were considered kids’ stuff; the sole prominent champion was Barney Bubbles, who produced a range to go with his branding of space rockers Hawkwind and pub-rock outfit Chilli Willi And The Red Hot Peppers – the pre-punk barbed wire logo button was conceived and executed by Simon Haynes, designer of the ambitious stage set for the Kilburns’ gig at the King’s Road Theatre.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Dawn, Handsome, Humphrey Ocean, Ian Dury, Kilburn & The High Roads, Let It Rock, Pye, Roberta Bayley, Rough KIds, SEX, Sex Pistols, Simon Haynes, Will Birch

“It isn’t so much what’s on the table that matters, as what’s on the chairs”

Jonathan Swift, from a letter to his friend Esther Johnson, 1711

//Simon Haynes in his ICA sitting room, 1970. Source publication: Unknown//

Ten Sitting Rooms was the title of a group exhibition curated by Jasia Reichardt at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1970. She organised a budget of £100 for each artist and gave them the brief of making a sitting room in spaces of either 15 x 18 feet or 12 x 24 feet.

I was alerted to the show’s existence by participant Simon Haynes, whose work I have been featuring here. Haynes’ Pop environment, which was produced in collaboration with his wife Sue, developed the themes and materials they used in the boardroom interior and furniture created earlier that year for Trevor Myles’ and Tommy Roberts’ boutique Mr Freedom at 430 King’s Road.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Andrew Logan, Bruce Lacey, Carol Joseph, Charles Hayter, Diane Livey, Diane Logan, Dom Sylvester Houédard, Elizabeth Harrison, Gerard Wilson, ICA, Ivor Cutler, Jasia Reichardt, John Furnival, Jonathan Meades, Jonathan Swift, Marlene Raybould, Oxford School of Architecture, Patrick Hughes, Simon Haynes, Sue Haynes, Trevor myles, Vaughan Grylls

//Mirabelle, May 2, 1970//

From the archive of the late Tommy Roberts, this image from British teen fashion magazine Mirabelle shows a particularly outré commission from fashion’s master of flamboyant retailing: a 7ft high rendition of a King Kong-style gorilla in blue fun fur created by the design team Sue and Simon Haynes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 1970, Chelsea FC, Chelsea School Of Art, Duggie Fields, Gerald Tilling, Leeds United, Mick Jagger, Simon Haynes, Sue Haynes, Susan Thomson, Tim Street-Porter

//Swingtag, printed card, 4" x 2", 1972//

Artist/designer Simon Haynes has allowed me access to some of the treasures in his archive. Over the next few weeks I’ll be dipping into it and presenting a selection of artworks, display items, stage sets and graphics he has created over the years.

//Design on silk swatch for fabric for shop interior fittings, 1972//

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: City Lights Studio, Covent Garden, Derek Morton, John Yong, Kilburn & The High Roads, Lorraine Piggott, Malcolm "Percy" Raines, Nicky Rea, Practical Styling, Ronnie Melia, Sharon Horsley, Simon Haynes, Sue Haynes, Willy Daly

//Harold Harris with 10ft tall display item designed by Rod Stokes, Mr Freedom, 1971. Photo courtesy Andrew Greaves.//

Something of a legend in 70s British boutique circles, here is Harold The Ted in all his glory accompanying one of the extravagant display items at Mr Freedom in Kensington Church Street: a 10 foot tall cut-out representation of a glowering boy scout made by Electric Colour Company’s Rod Stokes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: David Hockney, Gene Krell, Geoff Edwards, Harold Harris, Harold The Ted, Jill St John, Johnny Moke, Jon Wealleans, Les Coleman, Let It Rock, Mediocre Murals, Rod Stokes, Simon Haynes, Stan Hesketh, Sue Thompson, Trevor myles