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Jung Koch Quentell Vintage Charts

As we love the charts we sell and have found that you love them too, we thought it was time to write a bit more about the background and history of a selection of the charts we collect.
The latest count of charts in our workshop was 400 and there are more on the way! Some people (you know who you are!) would call us hoarders instead of curators/collectors, as we like to call it, but we cover our ears and hum whenever they visit.

One of our most popular range of charts is the Jung Koch Quentell chart collection,  so we thought we would start with explaining a bit more about them.
The name Jung Koch Quentell came to be as they were the last names of the three men, all scientists, who in the Fifties designed the charts for the German Publishing Company Hagemann, which supplied learning aids to German Schools. Their aim was to create universal charts, without text, which would be easy to interpret for teachers in any language. The Scientific rigor and artistic perfection they applied to creating these charts created the international success of Hagemann Charts, both as learning aids and now as interior design treasures.

Important principles of these charts were that the colours were true (up to 10 colours were used per chart) and that the size of the charts was large enough to be seen by the entire classroom.
These designs became an international success and Hagemann sold them worldwide, the vibrant colours on the black background and no text making them easy to use in any language.
Recently they have been discovered by interior design lovers and have proven to be a vast favorite by stylists for creating that immediate dramatic effect in a room.

Below are some of the charts that are our distinct favorites, with stunning design:

 The JKQ Archangel Nettle, depending on the age, the background is either a lovely 

green or a sky blue colour.

 JKQ Flax, the colours are even more vibrant in real life and very hard to capture on film.

I always think this Gorilla chart would look stunning in an office setting. The colours are subtle and the details are amazing.

 The Horse Chestnut Chart, stunning colours and the hint of fuchsia on the blossom

is so subtle and stunning

 The JKQ Tulip chart is our firm favorite, the colours are amazing and they remind of us day trips in the Netherlands to the Keukenhof, the most beautiful gardens.

 This beauty is hanging proudly in our kitchen, the greens stunning against the black background with an almost subdued quality of colour.

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Design Inspiration

I am a firm believer that if you buy things you truly love, you don't need to worry if they 'go together', they automatically will. It's just about finding the right combination. In our home I mix all sorts of styles, new, vintage, handmade and of course, child made items :). For months we had paper snowflakes hanging in the window that the munchkins had made at school and to me, it looked perfect. We have lived in this house for a year and a half now and we are finally able to add our own touches to it. If it was up to me we would knock down all the walls as I love open plan living, however, it seems we do need certain walls to keep the house standing, or so I am told ;).  At the moment we are rejigging our charts and I am contemplating using two of our own vintage tree charts to hang next to each other in the living room: 

 I am also testing out these two looks at the moment, what do you think?

To get some inspiration I love flicking through home magazines and my latest favorite source is houzz.com. They have an app as well and what a fab one it is! Glossy pictures and great ideas, have a look if you don't have it already! Beware though, it's a black hole of design and will suck you in for hours ;)  Below are some of our favorite pictures we drool over regularly.

                      This is Erin's kitchen, over at the.theimpatientgardener.com.

Eclectic Living Room design by Dc Metro Interior Designer Lauren Liess Interiors

Contemporary Bedroom design by Other Metro Media And Blogs Jeanette Lunde

Contemporary Living Room design by Other Metro Media And Blogs Jeanette Lunde

Giveaway

Welcome to our new blog! Earlier then expected but driven by the desire to run a giveaway for our facebook friendlies. In your face, facebook! ;)

This blog will be updated weekly with our latest finds, background info on some of our vintage treasures, our interior design obsessions and really, everything pretty in and for the home! 

Having lived in 8 different countries, we consider home to be where we are as a family and all the traveling was always a great excuse to go shopping, from souks to car boot sales, we have found some amazing items along the way and I can now haggle in 3 languages.

So, lets get onto this giveaway which is really special to us. Having only started last year March with our little online shop, we reached 260 sales on Etsy last week and we feel very lucky and grateful to be doing what we love every day. This giveaway is for you, our clients/customers/browsers/snoopers/storage room divers and home decor lovers. 
The giveaway works like this, post on this blog in the comment section how amazing we are. Just kidding! Please let us know where you would put this chart in your home, pictures of sad looking empty walls are allowed :). I have asked two other blogger to judge the entries with us and the winner will receive the chart, where ever you are in the world.

 Now, let's get to the unveiling, this is the chart we are giving away. 

 

This chart was printed in 1936 and depicts the story of Sleeping Beauty in colourful graphics on a black background. A very rare find and we feel proud sharing it with you all. This giveaway is open till the 14th of March and a winner will be announced on the 15th of March. 

If for some reason you have issues commenting on this post, please leave a message on our facebook page, www.facebook.com/bonnieandbell and we'll figure out a way of adding you to the entries on this blog.

Good luck!