Design exhibitions
Show how the form and materials of household objects have changed. A good display places things from different decades side by side, and the changes become visible on their own.
Events
Events
Things can be studied not only through books and photographs. You can see them in person at an exhibition, hold them at a vintage fair, watch them being repaired in a workshop or hear a lecture about them. Here we describe these kinds of events in general terms and explain how to check a listing before you set off.
At a flea market every object has a seller and a story. Both are worth asking about.
How this section works: we describe types of events and do not publish listings, schedules or invitations from organisers. Always confirm specific dates and admission terms with whoever is running the event.
Types of events
Four formats in which the culture of ordinary things meets its audience.
Flea markets and vintage fairs
A place to look closely at old utensils, travel bags and lamps, and to practise reading maker's marks and signs of use.
Open workshop days
Craftspeople and restorers show their work: soldering, grinding, reupholstering and varnishing. It is the best way to understand why things are worth repairing.
Museum lectures
Curators talk about the history of objects, how they are dated and how they are cared for. There is often a chance to ask your own question afterwards.
How to check an exhibition or fair listing
- Find out who is running the event: a museum, a city venue, a collectors' society or a private organiser.
- Find the organiser's official page and check the date, time, address and admission rules there.
- Notice when the listing was last updated: an old poster can circulate online for years.
- If registration is required, complete it only on the organiser's website, not through a link in a random mailing.
- Ask whether you may photograph the exhibits and handle objects, as rules differ from venue to venue.
- Check again the day before that the event has not been postponed or moved.
Read next
- People
Inventors, designers, craftspeople, curators, restorers and collectors: the roles that together make up the culture of things.
- History
A timeline of ordinary things: Dewar's vessel of 1892, the 1899 torch, stainless steel in 1913, the wheeled suitcase and blue LEDs.
- Analysis
How a vacuum flask works, step by step, and how the materials of ordinary things behave over time.
- Collections
Three reading routes: light at home, things for the road and kitchen utensils.
- Archive
The magazine's contents and a note on the old addresses of this domain.
Sources
- Encyclopaedic sources on the history of technology and design
- Variety Store magazine content
Dates of inventions and patents are taken from open historical and encyclopaedic sources. Exhibition, fair and museum lecture schedules change, so always check them with the organisers.