Chair #365

CANTILEVER (CHAMPAGNE CORK) CHAIR

—Adam Weisgerber

POP! Well, it's New Years Eve, and that that means that with this Chair du Jour post I'll have successfully completed my goal of painting 365 chairs! They rock, swivel, swing, recline, glide, or just sit there lookin' good. Hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I have.

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I think this cork chair is the perfect one to end the year with because who doesn't love champagne, dahhling?! And a miniature chair design contest involving a bourgeoisie item like champagne is irresistible, oui, n'est pas? This year Design Within Reach (DWR) sponsored its 4th annual champagne chair contest, and one particular DWR store had a champagne fueled reception sponsored by Veuve Clicquot for this year's top contestants. Of course you know Veuve Clicquot, that's the wicked good stuff with the orange label, and my favorite, wink wink, if you're ever a guest of mine. I'll bet you a bottle that you've taken the cork, the cap, and that little wire doo-hickey thing that holds all that bubble combustion in, and created something or other with it whilst the bubbly was being consumed. But these imbibing designers put our cork and wire doodles to shame. They were brilliantly inspired, and who wouldn't be by all those delicious, golden bubbles? The rules were simple and the results extraordinary—you've gotta Google it to see all the results for yourself.

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Veuve Clicquot Champagne History

When her husband died prematurely, a young Madame Clicquot decided to take up the reins of the champagne estate he began. Veuve means widow in French, and the widow Clicquot is who we can thank for giving us such sublime bubbliciosity with her Veuve Clicquot champagne. Known as the Grande Dame de la Champagne, the widow Clicquot's spirit is in every bottle of champagne sold by Veuve Clicquot, reigning over an empire of bubbles. In July 2008 the oldest unopened bottle of Veuve Clicquot was discovered inside a sideboard in Torosay Castle, Isle of Mull, Scotland. The 1893 bottle was in mint condition, having been kept in the dark. It is now on display at the Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin visitor centre in Reims, France and is regarded as priceless. Oooh la laaa!

Chair #364

ZIG ZAG CHAIR

—Designed by Michael Malmborg

We have another zig zag chair on this blog (See March 9, chair #68). From the LXE website: This unique chair has no beginning and no end. The design concept is the same as when you write a complete sentence without lifting the pen – in a circle! This serpent inspired lounge chair almost forces the spectator to examine it closely. And despite it’s abstract look, it’s quite comfortable. The strong aluminum alloy frame and a thick layer of supporting foam, it perfectly balances the weight of anyone who dares. Using a new technology (Swiss deep flocking) we spray a soft velvet surface directly on to the foam, leaving the upholstery seamless.

Chair #363

CELERY CHAIR, with peppers, carrots, & sno pea

—Designed by Craig Nutt

Eat your peas and carrots! On his website Carig Nutt writes: The Celery Chairs have bent celery stalks for back legs with a sno pea as the back rest. The front legs are either peppers or carrots, and the spindles in the back are carrots on the chairs with pepper legs and peppers on the chairs with carrot legs. Eight of these chairs were produced in 1992-93. Six of the eight were painted "natural vegetables" and a pair was produced in naturally finished Swiss pear. The seats are covered in supple leather in either eggplant or squash blossom color. The chairs have been exhibited in numerous museum and gallery exhibitions and featured in publications such as American Craft.

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I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me

are the number of carats in a diamond.

—Mae West (American Actress and sex symbol, 1892-1980)

Chair #362

AFRO INSPIRED CHAIR

—Designed by Yangsoo Pyo

Korean furniture and lighting designer Yangsoo Pyo has created a series of ‘Afro’ chairs. The ‘Afro’ chairs are made of notebook ‘2 ring springs attached to a steel frame. It employs the image of the unruly, curly afro hairstyle. The metal springs that are taken from 2 ring binders are used to visualize the tangled and puffed up texture of an afro. While the springs create a wonderful visual effect without proper treatment they may make the ‘Afro’ chair an uncomfortable seating option.The chairs come in silver, black and blue versions. The blue stool-like ‘Afro’ chair was inspired by the hairstyle of the Simpsons character Marge Simpson. Doh!

Chair #361

HOUDINI DINNER CHAIR

—Designed by CtrlZak Design Studio

The CTRLZAK Art & Design Studio, is led by Thanos Zakopoulos & Katia Meneghini. They have a very interesting website and are based in Milan and Greece. How bad can that be?

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Harry Houdini (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian American magician, escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer. He also was a famous skeptic who set out to expose frauds purporting to be supernatural phenomena. Among his stunts, such as being buried underground, or escaping form handcuffs, was one of his most popular publicity stunts... his famous escape from a suspended straitjacket!

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Houdini's suspended straitjacket escape

Houdini was to have himself strapped into a regulation straitjacket and suspended by his ankles from a tall building or crane. Houdini would then make his escape in full view of the assembled crowd. In many cases, Houdini would draw thousands of onlookers who would choke the street and bring city traffic to a halt. Houdini would sometimes ensure press coverage by performing the escape from the office building of a local newspaper. In New York City, Houdini performed the suspended straitjacket escape from a crane being used to build the New York subway. After flinging his body in the air, Houdini escaped from the straitjacket. Starting from when he was hoisted up in the air by the crane, to when the straitjacket was completely off, it took Houdini two minutes and thirty-seven seconds. There is film footage of Houdini performing the escape in The Library of Congress. After being battered against a building in high winds during one escape, Houdini performed the escape with a visible safety wire on his ankle so that he could be pulled away from the building if necessary.

— From Wikipedia

Chair #360

EXPO MARK II SOUND CHAIR

—Designed by Grant & Mary Featherson

What a great chair and, ahem, conversation piece! Read on and you'll understand my lame joke.

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Expo 67 Montreal was an opportunity to showcase Australian innovation on the world stage and a highlight of the Australian pavilion were 240 original Expo Sound chairs. Robin Boyd, designer of the pavilion's interior and displays, commissioned Melbourne-based contemporary furniture designers Grant and Mary Featherston to develop a 'talking chair' to deliver information about Australia to visitors in seated comfort. The chairs were upholstered in dark green wool with either a green cushion for English audio, or an orange cushion for French audio. Speakers installed in the headrests were activated by the pressure of a person sitting in the chair. An audio system controlled from the basement played three-minute segments of well-known Australians talking about Australia and the exhibits surrounding the visitor. The system, which cost $1 million to produce, was designed so that if an occupant of the chair left in the middle of the tape, it would start again from the beginning when a new occupant sat down. A total of 2000 tapes were made to withstand the wear and tear of being used 12 hours a day, seven days a week for six months. The estimated life of a tape under these conditions was four to six weeks. The National Museum of Australia recently acquired an Expo Mark II sound chair, adapted for the domestic market from the original Expo chair design by Aristoc Industries.

—From the National Museum of Austrailia Website

Chair #359

CHILD's DRUM CHAIR

—Designer unknown

Circa 1040s. England, this whimsical little drum chair is very fun indeed! And it seems like an appropriate chair for JC's birthday. Merry Christmas everyone!

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Little Drummer Boy

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,
On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.