News of the new furniture .sx A wind of change has blown through the cobwebs in the drawing-offices of Britain's furniture makers , and affected them as deeply as it has our politicos .sx An optimist might even persuade himself that there are signs of the birth of a new and fine 'English Modern style' .sx Our shame in the past has been that the talent that undoubtedly existed was not used .sx In despair , some of our younger people , fresh from the best design schools in the world , drifted off to Scandinavian and other countries where they felt their ideas and ideals were more appreciated , or worse , drifted into other work where their years of training and experience were lost for ever .sx In the post-war years , furniture of all sorts- beautiful and trashy- has been pouring into this country from abroad .sx Britain has become almost the world's clearing-house .sx When we were in Denmark recently , two furniture-makers told us that Britain took two-thirds of all the furniture they exported .sx When this furniture was good , it was so much better than anything we have been producing , that it made an immediate mark and proved a vast economic success .sx Now there are very real signs that our own manufacturers have taken note of the profits and , rather like the United States car manufacturers with their 'compact' cars , are hitting back at these foreign influences .sx Our home market now has the extra cash and extra influences from magazines and the daily press to make them more discriminating .sx Manufacturers who , a few years ago , were happy to produce one model that then sold successfully for years , are now willingly employing designers wishful to introduce new ideas .sx The new design policy is being vigorously adopted by some manufacturers , only half believingly by others , and then for only part of their range .sx But the signs are good .sx The Council of Industrial Design , of course , must get much of the credit for this awakening of public interest in design , for they show things by native manufacturers only .sx This credit must also be shared with a few brave manufacturers who have been making very soundly designed furniture ( and with their own money ) for years .sx Now , at last , more and more manufacturers are recognizing there is not only a certain cachet in the little black-and-white Design Centre label , but that would-be buyers do look for this signal .sx Every day , for six days a week , over three thousand people visit the Design Centre in the Haymarket , to see what Britain can make ; which goes to prove what critics have said over and over again- if people demand the best , eventually they will get it .sx What's new ?sx Exciting and unusual materials and combinations of materials are the keynote of the 1961 furniture collections .sx Robin Day has designed for Hille something we have long awaited and only been able to get from French sources , a truly super-elegant dinner-wagon or tea-trolley , happily marrying blackened steel , mahogany and stainless steel , with trays in white plastic .sx This piece is a rich and rare combination of visual and tactile delights .sx Aidron Duckworth , another of our top-line designers , shows new metallic possibilities in his new designs for the Holborn Metal Works .sx This is mainly contract work , and the new and luxurious Londoner Hotel has ordered his armchair , HCI , for its guests .sx We hope they can evolve a less asceptic-sounding [SIC] title for their chair before long .sx Nigel Walters , Head of the Furniture Design School of the Central School of Arts and Crafts , has also produced a dining-chair of great simplicity and beauty for the 'Braemar' range , by Wrighton .sx Four young students of the Central School , with the blessing of their tutor , have formed themselves into a group called 'Design Associates' .sx Their grounding in design has been sound .sx Now they hope to offer us a comprehensive industrial , furniture and interior design service .sx They claim that traditional or derivative influences will be avoided in their work , and insist that design in this country should be far more adventurous than it is at present .sx Fighting words .sx We shall see .sx Certainly we side with them wholeheartedly against the wholesale lifting of design that has been such a source of embarrassment for years .sx But we suggest that they should not wholly discount our design heritage , for there is much there for those who are bright enough to learn- as the Danes have shown with their borrowings from our own eighteenth-century tradition .sx We show some of the work of our design schools on page 73 .sx 'Danad Design' is the name of another group of artists , designers and architects who have banded together to brave the apathy of some stores' buyers- the omni-present barrier between the enlightened manufacturer and the public .sx These rebels have a firm belief in the possibilities of decorative plastic laminates in furniture design .sx The originality of the graphic designs they incorporate is likely to make its main appeal to a sophisticated and thus restricted market .sx We shall see .sx The techniques they use are much the same as those used by Fornasetti and Philip Pound , but the designs are supremely original and a good deal bolder .sx Interest has been shown in 'Danad' furniture by the stores in which one expects to see exciting and experimental work .sx Examples should be in the stores this month .sx SHOPPING .sx Figgio flameware from Norway was our choice when we paid a visit to R Pochin at 32 Granby St , Leicester .sx Designed for use on either gas or electric stoves , these dishes can be transferred straight from the oven to the table .sx They come in gay colours on a white ground and there are many shapes and sizes to choose from .sx The small dish with a handle in our photograph costs 9s 3d ; the casserole with lid is 35s 6d and the oblong dish 22s 7d .sx This is an excellent hardware store where you can buy anything from the most mundane of kitchen gadgets to a luxury bathroom fitting .sx Fireplaces are a speciality and you will find an endless selection in stone , tile or slate .sx White painted finish and an interesting shape attracted us to this Swedish 'Arka' chair imported by Finmar and on display at Harris's of Granby Corner , Leicester .sx You can also buy it in beechwood , and both models come with or without a fitted cushion .sx The price is +8 5s for the chair , and the cushion is extra .sx We pictured it ideally in a child's room because it is fairly low ( approx 12 in high from seat to floor) .sx If you have any furnishing problems , some at least of the answers will be found at this furnishing store which stocks much top bracket furniture , fabrics and carpets .sx Stainless steel from Sweden and the English Lake District :sx this is what we found at Pearce's , jewellers of 7 Market Pl , Leicester .sx The coffee-jug , designed by Gense of Sweden , costs +8 3s 6d and the three-legged dish , hand-beaten by the Keswick School of Art , is 59s 6d .sx Lanterns outside the front door , we are told , are fast increasing in popularity .sx This we confirmed whilst visiting Jack English at his shop in London Rd , Leicester .sx He told us that people seem to think nothing of spending +6 to light the way to their doorsteps , but will hesitate at spending the same amount for indoor lighting .sx The favourite shape is undoubtedly a variation on the old wrought iron pattern .sx It is guaranteed to be rust- and weather-proof and sells at +6 5s .sx Bohemian crystal chandeliers , magnificent and resplendent , to grace alike the baronial hall or 'semi-det' , are hung in a superb exhibition at Morgan Squires in Market St , Leicester .sx Crown Theresian chandeliers are known throughout the world- Maria Theresia , Empress of Austria and the mother of Marie Antoinette , decorated her palace with their like and this is how the name originated .sx They are made in Czechoslovakia and distributed in this country by Homeshades of Baker St , London W 1 , and prices range from as little as +6 for a small baguette to +600 for a 48-light chandelier , 6 feet high .sx Against this glittering background , Morgan Squires have put pieces from the 'Limelight' range of crystal , one of which we chose .sx This crystal is also produced in Czechoslovakia and comes in various shapes and sizes .sx The one illustrated is in amber and green and costs 70s .sx Quality and craftsmanship are the pace-setters that have kept The Dryad Handicrafts and Cane Furnishing Company of 42 Nicholas St , Leicester , leading their field .sx Every handicraft , at home or school , is catered for , both in the supply of materials and books and leaflets , published by their own press .sx On glancing through their catalogue we noticed such items as willow work , marbling and musical pipe-making .sx If you want to try your hand at the spinning wheel , you can buy one here for +13 18s 6d together with the various bobbins , spindles and carders that go with it .sx Natural fleece from the Cheviots and South Downs , with sufficient of the natural grease retained to make it particularly suitable for hand-spinning , can also be bought at 11s 9d a pound .sx One of the latest designs to come from their on-the-spot workrooms , is this mobile wine trolley complete with glass top and ball-bearing casters .sx The price is +9 13s 9d .sx AROUND THE HOUSE .sx Fruit-peeling knife .sx Another addition to the 'Prestige' 'Sky-Line' range of kitchen knives is a superbly sharp , hollow-ground knife for paring and slicing fruits .sx In fact , this small blade is three useful knives in one , for the tip is serrated and in the wide part of the blade is a sharpened gouger which will cut out a narrow sliver of peel to use in drinks or for decorating special dishes- or , indeed , dishes which can be made special by the addition of some decoration .sx s 11d from all good stores .sx Bath radiator .sx In an age of small houses and flats and miniscule bathrooms , if you have central heating and are sensitive to even the slightest chill in the one room where clothes don't protect you , the problem often arises- where to put the radiator and how to get a maximum of heating , using a minimum of space .sx The Hurseal 'Ripplerad' can now be fitted flush against the side of the bath itself , giving a fine sweep of radiator .sx We can't help feeling , too , that this is going to be a wonderful way to take that shocking chill off the porcelain enamel .sx The cost of 'Ripplerad' to fit an average bath would be about +5 exclusive of fitting charges .sx Enquiries to Hurseal , 219 Regent St , W 1 , or your nearest builders' merchant .sx A draught-free existence .sx March winds- the cause of those fearful cold draughts that quickly lower the temperature in even the most efficiently heated room- are firmly kept out with the new 'Seel-a-door' flexible plastic strip , that you can easily fix to the lower edge of the offending door yourself .sx The strip has a felt backing for double insulation and to protect carpets .sx Fixing is simple .sx Trim the 39-in strip to size with a pair of strong scissors , and then carefully peel off the protective paper backing which covers a strong adhesive .sx Press into place .sx s 6d from good department stores and ironmongers .sx Sealdraught Ltd also make a narrow self-adhesive plastic foam strip to seal windows and the sides of doors .sx Swedish salad servers .sx Boots's , once known only as dispensing chemists , have been branching out recently into other fields- books , records , jewellery and many other things can be bought at the larger branches , all of the high quality we have learned to expect from Boots's pharmaceutical departments .sx This handsome pair of salad servers from Sweden is typical of the good buying at Boots's branches now , and costs only 5s 11d the pair .sx Modular , do-it-yourself garages .sx In architectural circles there's an old adage :sx a doctor can bury his patients , but an architect can only advise them to grow ivy .sx Many of the garages to be had might well prompt a philanthropist of the anti-ugly school to spend a lifetime and a fortune distributing free , evergreen climbing plants .sx