news of the new furniture . a wind of change has blown through the cobwebs in the drawing-offices of Britain &apos;s furniture makers , and affected them as deeply as it has our politicos . an optimist might even persuade himself that there are signs of the birth of a new and fine English modern style . our shame in the past has been that the talent that undoubtedly existed was not used . 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 . in the post-war years , furniture of all sorts - beautiful and trashy - has been pouring into this country from abroad . Britain has become almost the world &apos;s clearing-house . when we were in Denmark recently , two furniture-makers told us that Britain took two-thirds of all the furniture they exported . 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 . 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 . our home market now has the extra cash and extra influences from magazines and the daily press to make them more discriminating . 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 . the new design policy is being vigorously adopted by some manufacturers , only half believingly by others , and then for only part of their range . but the signs are good . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . what &apos;s new ? exciting and unusual materials and combinations of materials are the keynote of the 1961 furniture collections . 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 . this piece is a rich and rare combination of visual and tactile delights . Aidron Duckworth , another of our top-line designers , shows new metallic possibilities in his new designs for the Holborn metal works . this is mainly contract work , and the new and luxurious Londoner Hotel has ordered his armchair , HCI , for its guests . we hope they can evolve a less asceptic-sounding title for their chair before long . 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 . four young students of the central School , with the blessing of their tutor , have formed themselves into a group called design associates . their grounding in design has been sound . now they hope to offer us a comprehensive industrial , furniture and interior design service . 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 . fighting words . we shall see . certainly we side with them wholeheartedly against the wholesale lifting of design that has been such a source of embarrassment for years . 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 . we show some of the work of our design schools on page 73 . Danad design is the name of another group of artists , designers and architects who have banded together to brave the apathy of some stores &apos; buyers - the omni-present barrier between the enlightened manufacturer and the public . these rebels have a firm belief in the possibilities of decorative plastic laminates in furniture design . the originality of the graphic designs they incorporate is likely to make its main appeal to a sophisticated and thus restricted market . we shall see . 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 . interest has been shown in Danad furniture by the stores in which one expects to see exciting and experimental work . examples should be in the stores this month . shopping . Figgio flameware from Norway was our choice when we paid a visit to R Pochin at 32 Granby St , Leicester . designed for use on either gas or electric stoves , these dishes can be transferred straight from the oven to the table . they come in gay colours on a white ground and there are many shapes and sizes to choose from . the small dish with a handle in our photograph costs 9 s 3 d ; the casserole with lid is 35 s 6 d and the oblong dish 22 s 7 d . this is an excellent hardware store where you can buy anything from the most mundane of kitchen gadgets to a luxury bathroom fitting . fireplaces are a speciality and you will find an endless selection in stone , tile or slate . white painted finish and an interesting shape attracted us to this Swedish Arka chair imported by Finmar and on display at Harris &apos;s of Granby Corner , Leicester . you can also buy it in beechwood , and both models come with or without a fitted cushion . the price is &amp;pound;8 5 s for the chair , and the cushion is extra . we pictured it ideally in a child &apos;s room because it is fairly low ( approx 12 in high from seat to floor ) . 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 . stainless steel from Sweden and the English lake district : this is what we found at Pearce &apos;s , jewellers of 7 Market Pl , Leicester . the coffee-jug , designed by Gense of Sweden , costs &amp;pound;8 3 s 6 d and the three-legged dish , hand-beaten by the Keswick School of art , is 59 s 6 d . lanterns outside the front door , we are told , are fast increasing in popularity . this we confirmed whilst visiting Jack English at his shop in London Rd , Leicester . he told us that people seem to think nothing of spending &amp;pound;6 to light the way to their doorsteps , but will hesitate at spending the same amount for indoor lighting . the favourite shape is undoubtedly a variation on the old wrought iron pattern . it is guaranteed to be rust- and weather-proof and sells at &amp;pound;6 5 s . 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 . 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 . 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 &amp;pound;6 for a small baguette to &amp;pound;600 for a 48-light chandelier , 6 feet high . against this glittering background , Morgan Squires have put pieces from the Limelight range of crystal , one of which we chose . this crystal is also produced in Czechoslovakia and comes in various shapes and sizes . the one illustrated is in amber and green and costs 70 s . 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 . every handicraft , at home or school , is catered for , both in the supply of materials and books and leaflets , published by their own press . on glancing through their catalogue we noticed such items as willow work , marbling and musical pipe-making . if you want to try your hand at the spinning wheel , you can buy one here for &amp;pound;13 18 s 6 d together with the various bobbins , spindles and carders that go with it . 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 11 s 9 d a pound . 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 . the price is &amp;pound;9 13 s 9 d . around the house . fruit-peeling knife . another addition to the Prestige Sky-Line range of kitchen knives is a superbly sharp , hollow-ground knife for paring and slicing fruits . 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 . 6 s 11 d from all good stores . bath radiator . 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 do n&apos;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 . the Hurseal Ripplerad can now be fitted flush against the side of the bath itself , giving a fine sweep of radiator . we can n&apos;t help feeling , too , that this is going to be a wonderful way to take that shocking chill off the porcelain enamel . the cost of Ripplerad to fit an average bath would be about &amp;pound;5 exclusive of fitting charges . enquiries to Hurseal , 219 Regent St , W 1 , or your nearest builders &apos; merchant . a draught-free existence . 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 . the strip has a felt backing for double insulation and to protect carpets . fixing is simple . 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 . press into place . 6 s 6 d from good department stores and ironmongers . Sealdraught Ltd also make a narrow self-adhesive plastic foam strip to seal windows and the sides of doors . Swedish salad servers . Boots &apos;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 &apos;s pharmaceutical departments . this handsome pair of salad servers from Sweden is typical of the good buying at Boots &apos;s branches now , and costs only 5 s 11 d the pair . modular , do-it-yourself garages . in architectural circles there &apos;s an old adage : a doctor can bury his patients , but an architect can only advise them to grow ivy . 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 . 