Chair #273

LOUIS DINING CHAIR

—Designed by Thomas Pheasant

Designed for Baker Furniture, the Louis Dining Side and Arm Chair is crafted from mahogany solids and finished in mahogany veneers. The graphic design was inspired by 18th century, Italian Neo-Classic design. Its graphic circle-within-square framed back has a slightly padded, upholstered front and a tight upholstered back that is slightly inset from its frame and secured at each point with a square of hand-forged metal finished in Antique Brass. Curved wood supports join the back to its tightly upholstered seat. The seat rests above a wood base before terminating to four tapered legs. The arm chair features exposed wood arms that sweep down then cut away before joining the seat base.

Chair #272

ODE LEAF STOOL III

—Designed by Jolyon Yates

An ODE to the Spring - the Leaf Stool is sumptuously sculpted in Birch. Enjoy the practical and luxurious form of this charming and very practical wooden interior sculpture. Bent wood lamination is a difficult process that Yates makes look easy. It involves cutting wood into very thin strips so it will take a bend, then gluing it up and wrapping it around a specially made form while the glue dries. All of the furniture he has made is bent wood lamination, but it looks as though it were sculpted from solid blocks of birch and then finished in satin lacquer. “Ode” is the name he chose for his birch chairs, and he goes on to define that term as “a lyrical poem that pays respect to that which inspires it.” Mr. Yates also says, “In a world of loveless volume manufacturing, ODE Chairs display soul by reflecting the care and honesty with which they have been conceived and crafted.” On his website Mr. Yates speaks "an ode to that rarest of commodities in this manufacture-everything-in-China-on-the-cheap days." His creations are an ode to honest labor.

Chair #271

ARGUMENT CHAIR

—Designer unknown

This chair is a knockout! The ‘Argument’ Chair sports unique and witty design, and although it’s an extreme concept, it's actually functional and looks quite comfie. An ideal gift for a Muhammad Ali or Tyson fan, it would make a great conversation piece and bring a bright jab of color to any room. The designer has created the Argument Chair made of many boxing gloves.  This chair features locking casters on rear legs for mobility and adjustable stainless leveling front feet for uneven surfaces. Exclusively hand-crafted this chair is a part of a limited edition. Don’t punch me for revealing the price tag for this ‘Argument Chair’ that is a little less then $6,000. Nickel plated hardened steel and real Everlast leather boxing gloves.

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"I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
— Muhammad Ali

Chair #270

SURREAL MINIMALISM CHAIR (part of a series)

—Designed by David Pompa

Austria-based designer David Pompa has designed a collection of office furniture called Surreal Minimalism. Office furniture. Can you even imagine? This is just so over the top and not attractive, apologies to the creator. Pompa claims that these chairs are a response to mental and physical needs of people in their office environment. The surreal minimalism collection consists of objects which can be randomly combined to a series of office chair. Hmmmm... maybe there’s something I’m missing.

Chair #269

KOLO ARMCHAIR

—Designed by Jouko Järvisalo 

The Finnish word KOLO refers to a small hollow, nook, hole or niche; metaphorically, it also refers to a living space. So now we know. The KOLO is an armchair made from a single wooden sheet, although this looks more like metal to me. Its armrests form a flat, planar surface, from which the seat and chair back are pressed out to create a hollow that makes the seat. The Kolo appears to float on air like a flying magic carpet, but it is supported by a minimalist tubular steel frame.

Chair #268

HORN AND FUR CHAIR

—Offered through Aqua Vitae Designs

PETA pal Pamela Anderson would be all over this chair... 

... with spray paint! To me this chair brings back days of adventure and grandeur in British East Africa. European aristocrats with deep pockets living even deeper out in game country where hunting safaris bagged their trophies of elephants, zebra, giraffes, lions, hippos, leopards, etc. Not that I think people should hunt now, PETA people, but what's done is done, right? This chair makes me think of Isaak Dinesen writing the opening words to her book Out of Africa—"I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills..." Pimms and cucumber sandwiches on the veranda at 4.

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The traditional cucumber sandwich is made of paper-thin slices of cucumber placed between two thin slices of crustless, lightly buttered white bread, preferably with sprigs of fresh dill. Cucumber sandwiches are most often served for a light snack or at afternoon tea, a formal light meal served at four in the afternoon or early evening before the main supper. 

Chair #267

PETAL CHAIR

—Designed by Erwine and Estelle Laverne

Circa 1960s. So sweet, isn't it? If Eero Saarinen Tulip Chair was the inspiration for this chair, it blossomed into a large, graceful French tulip. My favorite flower, I think. En mass of course. And white.

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Tulip mania! Most cultivars of the tulip are derived from Tulipa Gesneriana and are used as ornamental plants. The tulip even boasts a whopping 150 bulbous species. Although this familiar flower is most associtated with Holland, it actually originated in the Persian empire. How exotic, yes? I know what you're thinking and I am too... magic carpet. Mass plantings of the tulip really do evoke a magic carpet effect. It's not known who first brought the tulip to northwest Europe, but we can thank the Turks who eventually brought it to Europe, where it eventually made its way to us in the USA. The word tulip, which earlier in English appeared in such forms as tulipa or tulipant, entered the language by way of French tulipe and its obsolete form tulipan or by way of Modern Latin tulīpa, from Ottoman Turkish tülbend. In the early 1600s enthusiasm for the new flowers triggered a speculative frenzy now known as the tulip mania. Tulip bulbs were then considered a form of currency. Cool cash.

Chair #266

EASY CHAIR

—Designed by Gerrit Rietveld for Metz

Gerrit Rietveld is the same designer who created the Zig Zag chair (March 9, chair # 68 of this blog). Some of his chairs don't look comfortable, but this one actually does. In 1930 Rietveld created his famous cupola on the roof of the Metz-building and created a furniture collections still to be found in museums over the world and in the present collection of the company. In that period Metz became famous for its designs by Gerrit Rietveld, Bart van der Leck, Sonia Delauny and Alvar Aalto.

Chair #265

EMPORIA CHAIR

—Designed by Wendell Castle

A highlight at the 15th annual Sculpture Objects and Functional Art fair (SOFA) this year will be Wendell Castle’s bronze Emporia Chair, 2008. It's from an edition of eight, and it's priced at hefty $90,000. The event’s 15th-anniversary edition, taking place November 7 through 9 at the city’s Navy Pier, features 100 international dealers, four curated exhibitions and a host of educational and VIP events expected to attract about 35,000 visitors.

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OK movie buffs...Remember the film Journey to the Center of the Earth? No, no... not the pathetic remake. The original one with James Mason ? Well, at the end of the film the explorers are trying to escape those awesome giant lizard things (nice special effects for back then, don't you think?) So they all lie in a gigantic bowl, and a volcanic eruption pushes and spins the bowl and them up... up....up... from the center of the Earth back up to the top of the Earth. Terra verde, as we know it. Well, this chair reminds me of that bowl. With handles.

Chair #264

RIBBON CHAIR

—Designed by Pierre Paulin

Pierre Paulin was a busy man in his lifetime. A designer for Artifort, Pierre is the genius who brought us such treasures such as this mushroom chair, the pumpkin chair, and the tongue chair. Some of his nifty, colorful and whimsical chairs are even included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Cool and Groovy!! Through the use of a visually unified, abstract sculptural form, chairs such as the mushroom create a uniquely comfortable and aesthetically pleasing seating experience which allows the user superb ergonomics and freedom of movement. The Mushroom chair is sensitive yet strong. Pierre Paulin studied stone carving and clay modeling at the Ecole Camondo in Paris in the early fifties where he began designing furniture for Thonet. In 1958, he became the designer for Artifort where he created a series of sculptural chairs with an inner structure of steel tubing, covered in foam and fabric. In 1968, Paulin collaborated with Le Mobilier National and received many important government commissions including furniture and interiors for the Elysee Palace in Paris. He also designed home appliances. 

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"A chair should be more than simply functional. 

It should be friendly, fun and colorful."

              —Pierre Paulin

Chair #263

SHOPPING CART CHAIR (aka the FU LOUNGE CHAIR)

—Designed by Fernando 'FU' Paullada

Remember when you were small enough to fit into the top part of a shopping cart? There you were... sitting high and proud. If you were extra good, weren't a cry baby, or didn't beg for every box of Cap't Crunch or Fruit Loops your mom would actually buy you a treat. Probably a box of Cap't Crunch or Fruit Loops. And you didn't even have those wimpy seat belts in them like they do nowadays. Guess we just lived dangerously and took our chances with those shopping carts.

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Fernando "Fu" Paullada is an 18th generation Roma born in the entrails of Mexico City, Fernando is better known as Fu for reasons you don't want to know, and his last name is yet to be pronounced right by anyone north of the border. He built this shopping cart chair in his college years without even being aware of the excitence of the "Consumer Rest" chair by Frank Schreiner (made in 1983) which is very similar to Fu's chair. About this Fu says, "My chair was made out of mere impulse and no previous planning and that's the truth and it's up to you to believe it or not. So now that you know and I know, Please don't give me more crap, I'm up to my neck in it. Thanks."

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I'm all lost in the supermarket I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for the special offer
A guaranteed personality

—song lyrics by The Clash

Chair #262

CURVED WOOD AND BRONZE ARMCHAIR

—Designer unknown

This stylish wooden curved chair is accented by bronze legs in the back. American, circa 1970.

Chair #261

WEDGE CHAIR

—Designer unknown

I found this chair on the David Byrne website— yeah, the Talking Heads dude! I couldn't find the designer's name... anyone out there have any info on this chair? It's quite striking with its steeple like chair back. Reminds me of those paper holders you'd see in offices of old films. You know, piles of paper impaled onto a metal stake? Amen for the invention of the stickies.

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We all know what Stickies are, right? A stickie (brand name, Post-it note) is a small piece of stationery with a re-adherable strip of adhesive on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents and to other surfaces. The short story is that in 1968 a scientist at 3M named Dr. Spencer Silver accidentally developed a low-tack, reusable, pressure sensitive adhesive. Well, nothing actually happend with this invention until five years later when a colleague of his named Art Fry came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook. And voilà! The Stickie note was born.

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And did you furthermore know that Stickies have several other meanings?

— A shortened form of Sticky Notes.

— Stickies (software) is a Macintosh application - The name being derived from the above abbreviation.

— Stickies (papermaking) are tacky substances that causes deposits in papermaking, especially in deinking.

— Nickname of the Official Irish Republican Army

— Australian nickname for dessert wines

                                                             —from Wikipedia

chair #260

HOOD CHAIR

—Designed by Broberg Ridderstrale

Fab and fun chair! This chair originates from a workshop with the Campana brothers in 2003. The theme was “containment” and “constructing from deconstruction.” Furniture often take new shapes when they are being used. The user can, for example, alter the appearance of a chair by laying his/her coat over the seat and there by quietly stating “taken.” The Hood Chair borrows properties recognized in clothing/fashion to give the chair a look and function that communicates through other channels. —from the Yanko Design website

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I know I am in the minority when I say this because clearly hoodies are in style, but in my opinion hooded sweatshirts should only be worn in four places; in the gym, on the beach, on the field, or on college campuses. OK, FIVE places... whilst robbing banks. I mean, WWCCT? (What would Coco Channel think?)

Chair #259

IRISH PUB CHAIR

—Designer unknown

This 19th century Irish pub chair is priceless, isn't it? And solid as a pint of Guinness. Hand carved form oak, legend has it that this chair was specifically reserved for the use of the gentleman depicted in the carving on the chair back. Makes sense. And I suppose he had his own special pint glass hanging from a beam above the bar. Probably in a pub called Fitzgerald's. Would you meet me down at the pub for a wee pint then?

Chair #258

EMMABO ROCKING CHAIR

—Designed by Emma Dafnäs for IKEA

Clean, simple lines. Powder coated steel frame with a nylon/poly cover.

In the immortal words of Michael Jackson...I wanna rock with you...

Girl, close your eyes 

Let that rhythm get into you
Don't try to fight it
There ain't nothin' that you can do

Relax your mind
Lay back and groove with mine
You got to feel that heat
And we can ride the boogie
Share that beat of love

I wanna rock with you all night
Dance you into day, sunlight
I wanna rock with you all night
We're gonna rock the night away...

Chair #257

PLASTIC CHAIR

—Designer unknown

This seems to have taken inspiration from the kitchen as well. Looks like the half teaspoon measuring spoon.

Chair #256

LISTENER CHAIR

—Designed by Andy Buck

Mahogany with milk paint. Quite a strong personality, with inspiration from a kitchen spoon perhaps?

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Hey diddle diddle, The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Chair #255

HAND & FOOT CHAIR

—Designed by Pedro Friedeberg

This chair is from the 1960s... obviously. Designer Pedro Friedeberg had to have been experimenting with drugs when he dreamed this chair up. Too bizarre to elaborate on. And there's a joke in there about a carbon footprint, but I haven't thought of it yet.

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Vote for Pedro! (Napolean Dynamite fans will get that.)

Chair #254

BEAR CHAIR

—Designer unkown

Oh I have a weakness for all things teddy bear. OK, well, this looks more like a grizzly bear, but still, I like it. Very Pennsylvania Dutch. Grooooowl.

Chair #253

FUTURA CHAIR

—Offered through Brown Jordan

Not your grandma's wicker chair. This aluminum framed armchair is covered with Resinweave, a synthetic product that has the look of natural wicker. Sharp. It's a looker.

Chair #252

CUT PAPER CHAIR

—Designed by Charles Kaisin

Although it looks closer to a hairy sheepdog or a prehistoric wooly mammoth than a chair, this is actually a very clever creation that was presented in the Maison & Objet fair in Paris in September 2007 as a part of the Ecological trend. It's all about being green and repurposing these days, isn't it? The chair is made of very fine cut paper by the designer Charles Kaisin from Brussels. It's all art, and not remotely practical of course. I mean, you certainly couldn't really use this chair in a normal way because the pieces of paper would become all matted and dirty … and then you couldn't wash it. It does however, look more comfortable than some of the other chairs on this blog.

Chair #251

ROCOCO CHAIR

—Designed by Ed Hardy

This Rococo armchair, circa early 1700s, is made of giltwood and upholstered with a chenille seat and back. Love the claw and ball feet.

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The ball and claw foot was developed in Holland around the very early 1700s. The inspiration came from a Chinese motif of a dragon clutching a pearl. The design evolved into a claw clutching a ball, which made its way from Holland to England and from there to America, all within the first part of the eighteenth century. There are two variations: a lion’s claw, which is more popular in England, and an eagle’s claw, which is more popular in America. You’ll find examples of ball and claw in Chippendale and Queen Anne furniture, and later work in the traditional style that takes its inspiration from that period.

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The word Rococo is a combination of the French rocaille, or stone garden (referring to arranging stones in natural forms like shells), and the Italian barocco, or Baroque style. Due to Rococo love of shell-like curves and focus on decorative arts, some critics used the term to derogatively imply that the style was frivolous or merely modish; when the term was first used in English in about 1836, it was a colloquialism meaning "old-fashioned". However, since the mid 19th century, the term has been accepted by art historians. While there is still some debate about the historical significance of the style to art in general, Rococo is now widely recognized as a major period in the development of European art. —From Wikipedia

Chair #250

SPLASH CHAIR

—Designed by Michael Wendel

SPLASH! Go Ahead, Dive In. 

Ever look at macro photos of water splashes or super slow mo’ video of a droplet slamming into the surface sending ripples across a lake? There’s a moment in that 1/10 of a second when the impact creates a crater or sorts, as if you were small enough, it could neatly cup you. Inspired designer Michael Wendel created a 1/8th scale model called the Splash Lounge Chair, big enough for us to sit in.

Wanna know how it was made? The chair was sculpted at 1/8th scale using Sculpey clay. From there, the model was cut into ¼ inch slices. These slices were scanned, blown up to full scale, and plotted to be used as a template for the full scale model. From there, the templates were adhered to 2 inch pink insulation foam, cut out, and assembled to the full scale form. Countless hours of sanding later, the form was coated in 4 coats of Elmer’s glue to protect the foam from resin. After the glue was dried, the form was sprayed with chopped fiberglass using a chopper gun. Once dried, the fiberglass was sanded down, then coated with Bondo. After sanding the Bondo as smooth as possible, it was painted with high epoxy glossy white paint.

                  — from the Yanko Design website

Chair #249

THE MÖBIUS CHAIR

—Designed by Frans Schrofer

This chair pushes the limit of twisted, laminated wood. The undulating circular form of this chair, with its convex and concave lines, pushes the limits of wood lamination and 3D forming.  The chair was named Möbius for its resemblance of a continuous and twisted ribbon of wood.

Chair #248

THE HALF DOLLAR BUTTERFLY CHAIR

—Designed by Johnny Swing

This seductive chair is made with welded coins. Real coins. Not just pennies either. Silver half dollar coins. 1,500 of em! Johnny Swing Vermont-based designer and repurposer of all manner of junk has turned his attention to money, which is extremely topical these days considering the economy. The 58 pound chair was made with the aforementioned 1,500 half dollar coins along with 7,000 welds. Let me add that up for ya. The coins alone are worth $750, then add in the ancillary materials, and oh yeah—the labor—that painstaking dedication to repitition and detail. Final cost? A cool $29,000. He also made a sultry, swank couch made of nickels.

Chair #247

GAMER THRONE

—Designed by Fredrik Olsson and Sam Sihvonen

DUDE! As the geeky Slackers of the 80-90’s Nintendo-generation (you know who you are) enter the adult world and embrace a life filled with jobs and stress, it makes it harder for them to waste their days away like they could when they were teenagers. Aaahhh, those Teenage Wasteland days of yesteryear. Before kids slacked their days away texting one another, they spent their days playing video-games with MTV on in the background, snarfing stacks of Pringles, and swilling cold Yoo-Hoos. The Slacker low-rider lounger with video-game inspired wooden carvings is a reflection of those sweet days days. The chair is the creation of Fredrik Olsson and Sam Sihvonen while attending the master program at HDK - the School of Design and Crafts at Gothenburg University in Sweden. The Slacker Throne is produced in a very limitied edition and has a price of $3200 USD. Exhibited at the 2008 Stockholm Furniture Fair, this low rider luxo-lounger has the perfect dimensions for kicking back in alternate dimensions, while at the same time impressing your friends with your one-level-above-Ikea design sense and ability to point out irony. The Slacker Throne features intricately cut, solid wood arms, foretelling your eventual demise in not only your Second Life, but your first life as well! Mwah-ha-ha-ha…Game Ovaaaahhhhhhh!.

Chair #246

BRAIN BEANBAG CHAIR

—Designed by Vladi Rapaport

Ew. Why?

Chair #245

MOLE CHAIR

—Designed by Sargio Rodrigues

Gotta get to the bottom the the naming of this chair.

Chair #244

WIRE CHAIR

—Designer unknown

Looks so delicate, like pelican legs.