Street Style: More Mid Century Modern

'My granny in Nigeria knits my hats for me,' says Moses Otunla, 45, 'every time I go she has three or four waiting.' Moses has been selling vintage furniture for over 10 years (mainly to Mr & Mrs That's Not My Age!) His fantastic shop, Bleu, is in Herne Hill.



Stuart Paterson, 43, buys antiques and art for clients. When we bumped into him, Stuart was buying for himself. He collects ugly anglepoise lamps and has a 'small forest of them at home.'



Simon White, 42, and Rumina Haji, 41, (Haji & White) sell vintage posters and antiques . Simon cuts a dash in his Kangol hat and heavy cotton jacket from a Parisian flea market. Rumina looks fab in a 70s Swedish housecoat.



'I'll try not to give myself 80 year old lips!' said Maxine Siwan, 49, re-applying her lipstick before being snapped. Maxine works as a consultant for Liberty, and has the wardrobe to prove it. McQueen scarf, Pauric Sweeney bag...I won't go on.

Photos: Stephanie Rushton

Street Style: Mid Century Modern

Meet Austin Vince, 44, and Lois Pryce, 36. Inspired by early Robert Redford movies, the dashing Mr Vince customises retro overalls, and, apparently, is the only person in the world to do so. If you'd like a pair, please contact him at austinvince@yahoo.com



Mildred Palmer, 47, and Jo Barber, 52, both work for Margaret Howell. Mildred is rocking a Uniqlo shirt and recently cultivated quiff. Jo has opted for Gap jeans, a second-hand cashmere cardi and her classic suede coat (Margaret Howell, of course).



Mr Id, 41, is a vintage furniture dealer who runs an online business and a lovely shop in Honor Oak Park. He firmly believes that we should forget the flatpack, and spend our money recycling old furniture instead.



We were so excited when we saw Lydia Sheppard, 81, that we stopped her on the stairs and caused a bit of a kerfuffle. Lydia worked as a doctor in Saudia Arabia during the 1980s, which is where she found this eye-catching silk blouse.



Lorna Leslie, 49, is obviously a bit handy with a needle and thread, she made this stylish textured coat herself. Looks good with her old Issey Miyake tunic, no?

Photos: Stephanie Rushton

Mid Century Modern: Zoe Murphy

Margate. The Kent coastal town that provided inspiration for JMW Turner and TS Eliot, may not be what it used to be, but it has been featured on The Apprentice... and is still surprisingly influential today. 'Until I moved away to university, I hadn't really thought about living miles from the coast or not having a theme park round the corner,' says designer Zoe Murphy, 'it made me thankful that I come from such a visually interesting place.'

At 23 years old, Murphy may be well below our usual age limit, but all her lovely hand-crafted, mid-century furniture is above and beyond the big 4-0. 'I always use retro pieces and try to show people that they don't have to give up on something because it's old and tatty,' she says, 'having faith in an item, or town, can bring it back to something beautiful.' Mmm...that's a lot of faith if, like That's Not My Age, you're from Blackpool...

Re-use is vital to Murphy's ethic of 'love what belongs to you' and the textiles graduate lovingly restores and recycles second-hand furniture with Formica veneers and printed imagery inspired by her hometown. From antiques dealers to house clearance specialists, Murphy has a large group of people looking out for her,' I also do a lot of the hunting myself - one of the perks of the job! So most of my weekends are spent searching through charity shops, auctions and boot sales. It's wonderful to learn the social history of pieces and talk to people about the part they played in their lives.'

Back on the Kent coast, Murphy realises that it's not just the furniture that's getting a facelift. Dilapidated, old Margate, is very slowly undergoing urban regeneration. OK, so there are still loads of boarded up shops but the seaside shelter where Eliot wrote part of The Waste Land, is now a grade II listed building, work on a permanent Turner gallery is under way (due to open in 2011), and Murphy has an artist's studio in a converted pie factory. 'I can feel the regeneration that's going on in my defiant little hometown, and I want to stick around for a few years to help Margate pull itself back to its feet.' Are you listening Tracy Emin?



Zoe Murphy will be at Mid Century Modern, Dulwich College, on Sunday 15th November.