Happy Birthday Lucite! First brought to market as Plexiglas in 1933, the synthetic polymer will turn 75 in just a few months. To celebrate, Lucite International and Material ConneXion are holding a Lucite exhibition in NYC this Spring.

Lucite will showcase the winning prototypes from its Carry Me! handbag design competition along with a rare collection of vintage handbags that inspired the competition. The exhibit will also include a series of current product applications, which demonstrate the versatility of Lucite® and its use in a wide range of industries -- from architecture and furnishings to industrial design and retail merchandising.

Also referred to as Acrylic Glass, Lucite is renowned for being relatively easy to fabricate, cut, shape, and join, and has been used in everything from submarine periscopes to containers for corrosive liquid to chairs in the White House dining room. The ease with which it is worked has led to it being used to jazz up high-heeled shoes, guitars, tobacco pipes, jewelry, you name it.

The Lucite 75th Anniversary Exhibition opens at Material ConneXion on May 10th.