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Tag Archives: Chair

The ‘Man Chair’ Saga Continues…

22 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by Joanna in Design

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Chair, Dogs, Furniture, Furniture Design, Great Dane Furniture, Man Chair, mid-century design, Shopping, Wikkelso

You may recall a post I did back in July – yes, that’s 4 1/2 months ago now – on LM and the ‘Man Chair’ Saga. Well, LM’s new ‘Man Chair’ – the ever-so-beautiful Wikkelso V11 Easy Chair and Footstool arrived this afternoon. Minus the footstool. It seems it was too much for them both to be delivered at the same time…

Despite this, I gotta’ say, the chair is GORGEOUS! Bella thinks so, too.

Bella Bear in Papa Bear's Chair

Bella Bear in Papa Bear’s Chair
(Image by TSL)

Who’s been sitting in MY chair…? (Goldilocks and the Three Bears)

Fortunately, LM is away for the week, so hopefully the complete ‘Man Chair’ package will be in situ for him when he arrives home.

One of the last things he said before departing was “When my Man Chair arrives, tell the dog it’s not her chair”. I don’t think she was listening…

Update: Great Dane Furniture have sent the footstool by courier. The ‘Man Chair’ saga is concluded in time for LM’s return…

Happy snap of the Wikkelso V11 Easy Chair AND Footstool

Happy snap of the Wikkelso V11 Easy Chair AND Footstool
(Image by TSL)

LM and the ‘Man Chair’ Saga…

04 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by Joanna in Design

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Chair, Copenhagen, Couch, Denmark, Furniture, Furniture Design, Great Dane, Illum Wikkelso, Interior design, La-Z-Boy, Leather, Man Chair, May Sarton, mid-century design, Recliner, V11

LA-Z-BOY Recliner

(Image © Christian Montone)

Comfort rules. You want to be able to sit in a good chair comfortably for a few hours and be able to talk and enjoy a glass of wine. There’s nothing worse than sitting in an uncomfortable chair. (Amanda Pays)

LM and I do not disagree often. This is not because we are so loved up and in tune with each other that we don’t fight (although he is particularly loveable). Rather, it’s far more likely due to the fact that he is one of the most amiable and chilled people I’ve ever met. Truly. And, I’m not just saying that because today is his birthday. (Happy birthday, LM!)

Anyhoo, when LM and I joined households, he was the proud owner of a ‘Man Chair’. Now, just so we’re clear (and you don’t confuse the Man Chair with the Husband Chair*), the Man Chair can be defined as the only place a man can go after a long day of hard work. A chair that is the only thing that can truly comfort and care for a man. Often an extremely comfortable yet remarkably ugly recliner with foot rest. Obtaining one is a right of passage into manhood.

LM’s Man Chair was really ugly, so I gave it away. To the very nice removalists, in fact. As they were moving my things in. Start as you mean to go on, I say. The conversation that followed went something like this:

LM – Where’s my chair?

TSL – What chair?

LM – The black La Z Boy chair that used to sit here. <pointing>

TSL – Do you mean the ugly NAVY recliner that took up too much space? I gave it away.

LM – It was black

TSL – No, actually it was navy

LM – I am a straight man. Only gay men can be expected to tell the difference between navy and black.

I don’t think he has ever really forgiven me for giving away his chair. But finally, this month, he has ordered a replacement for his old, ugly, navy recliner Man Chair with a TSL approved divine Wikkelso V11 Easy Chair & Footstool. It’s yummy. It cost a small fortune BUT it will last the rest of his life (and probably beyond). And, he deserves it, I reckon.

Wikkelso V11 Easy Chair and Footstool

Wikkelso V11 Easy Chair and Footstool
(Image sourced from Architonic)

Wikkelso V11 Easy Chair and Footstool (Rear)

Wikkelso V11 Easy Chair and Footstool (Rear)
(Image sourced from Architonic)

A house that does not have one warm, comfy chair in it is soulless. (May Sarton)

The V11 chair and footstool make up 2/3 of a series of series of classical furniture which also includes a sofa. LM did not buy the sofa. The chair and footstool were enough to complete his Man Chair requirements.

Because it is so beautiful, here’s a picture of it anyway.

Wikkelso v11 Sofa

Wikkelso V11 Sofa
(Image sourced from Architonic)

Vintage Wikkelso v11 Sofa

Circa 1965 Vintage Wikkelso V11 Sofa
(Image sourced from Great Dane)

Originally created by Danish designer Illum Wikkelso in 1965, the V11 seating range is a collection of really beautifully crafted leather seats and considered a classic piece of mid-century design. Original V11 pieces are rare and highly sought after on the international furniture market, with originals reportedly found in the office of the Japanese president and in the collection of King Feisel of Saudi Arabia. LM’s are not original originals…

Australian furniture company Great Dane Furniture has now brought the V11 seating range back into production. Each piece is made from beginning to end by Great Dane’s craftsmen to create a piece of furniture that is true to Wikkelso’s 1965 design. Great Dane currently have a sale going on. You can check out their website here.

* Husband Chair: the chair that men sit in while their partner is shopping for long periods of time. They can be found in almost any clothing or shoe store. 

Veronika Wildgruber Makes Soft Wood…

02 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by Joanna in Design

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Chair, Furniture, German, Home and Garden, Homewares, Lifestyle, Shopping, Soft Wood, Tea Towel, Textile, Trompe L'oeil, Veronika Wildgruber, Wood

'Soft Wood' by Veronika Wildgruber

‘Soft Wood’ by Veronika Wildgruber
(Image © Veronika Wildgruber)

I don’t like things that can be reproduced. Wood isn’t important in itself but rather in the fact that objects made in it are unique, simple, unpretentious. (George Baselitz)

If you are a regular reader of TSL, you’ll know I have a wee bit of a thing for trompe l’oeil. I first read about the extremely talented Veronika Wildgruber and her trompe l’oeil-esque ‘Soft Wood’ project at Anthony Robertson Design.

‘Soft Wood’ is a series of chairs (limited to 250) that appear at first to be made in fabric with the soft appearance of pillows. In reality they are sculpted in solid wood. Veronika says, “The chairs trick the mind because the surface and texture connotes the opposite of what we think and know about the characteristics of wood.”  She has created her ‘Soft Wood’ chairs to illustrate how wood can usually not be both soft and comfortable. The concept plays with reality and shows that you cannot always rely on your perception.

I think there’s a slightly retro-feel to these fabulous chairs…

Soft Wood Chair by Veronika Wildgruber
Soft Wood Chair by Veronika Wildgruber
Soft Wood Chair by Veronika Wildgruber

Detail of Soft Wood Chair by Veronika Wildgruber

‘Soft Wood’ Chairs by Veronika Wildgruber
(Images © Veronika Wildgruber)

I also like Veronika’s very German (in my opinion, at least) approach – her design aesthetic is both clean, practical and efficient; while at the same time a little idiosyncratic. That appeals to my German half!

Check out a couple of her other “simple and surprising” designs:

'Hand Towel' by Veronika Wildgruber

'Hand Towel' by Veronika Wildgruber

‘Hand Towel’ by Veronika Wildgruber
Inspired by the habit to use a dishcloth as an oven cloth. This cloth combines both functions. Produced by Raumgestalt. (www.raumgestalt.net)
(Images © Veronika Wildgruber)

'Colino' by Veronika Wildgruber

‘Colino’ by Veronika Wildgruber
Grandma`s Tea Colino is a tea strainer with a blossom pattern woven in the metal wire structure. -prototype-
(Images © Veronika Wildgruber)

Veronika was born in Germany, and currently lives and works in Berlin. She studied product design at the Faculty of Design and Arts in Bolzano, Italy.  Her work has been exhibited in Milan, Paris, Berlin and London, and she was awarded with the Silmo d`Or in 2010 for her sunglasses VW02 design and the IF Product Design Award 2011 for her seriously cool ‘Wardrope’ design.

If you would like to see more of Veronika’s work, or sign up for her newsletter, you can do so here.

Rejoice in Marni at Salone del Mobile

23 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Joanna in Design

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

Chair, Consuelo Castiglioniby, Fashion, Film, Francesco Jodice, Furniture, L’Arte del Ritratto, Marni, Milan, Photography, Salone del Mobile, style

I’m a wee bit of a fan of Marni, the Italian fashion label launched by Swiss-Italian fashion designer Consuelo Castiglioniin 1994. With furs, bold colors, unconventional art prints and designs, Marni has a quirk-factor and slightly off-beat feel that appeals.

Most recently, the fashion label has turned its collective hand to furniture design with a collection of 100 chairs made in Columbia by ex-prisoners.  This collection of one-off and highly collectable chairs was exhibited at Salone del Mobile in Milan.

The aim of the venture was to augment the prisoners’ resettlement into every-day life. The chairs are a common seat found in Columbian homes. The design was reinterpreted by Marni who modified the woven pattern and created new colour variations.

All proceeds from the chairs, which went on sale at the Marni pop-up in Milan last week, are going to the institute ICAM of Milan – a project which allows children of imprisoned mothers to spend their youth in a family environment.




The chairs are also linked to “L’Arte del Ritratto” (The Art of Portraiture), a photo exhibition and a video created in collaboration with photographer and filmmaker Francesco Jodice. The chairs are used as background for a series of portraits of Marni teams from different departments. After Milan’s Salone del Mobile, the exhibition will tour to various Marni boutiques worldwide where the local teams will also be photographed, so that the event will always feature new material.

If you want to watch a seriously stylish video featuring supremely fashion-forward Marni employees and some lovely time-lapse video footage with the 100 chairs AND you have 5 minutes to kill, click below:

Sadly, a wee jaunt to Milan and the Marni pop-up store last week was not on the cards for this blogger.  Maybe another time Marni?

(All images and video sourced from the Marni website here)

Retro Revival Furniture is Really Rad’…

12 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by Joanna in Design

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

Chair, craft, culture, elizabeth cottrell, Furniture Design, Garage sale, Interior design, Kiwiana, New Zealand, New Zealand Wool, Retro, revival furniture, style, Taihape, Textiles, Upcycling

Taihape, New Zealand is famous for being the Gumboot Capital of the world. Truly. In March this year, a new Men’s Open Gumboot Throwing New Zealand record was set by Niki Martin, throwing his gumboot 44.97m! Strange but true!

Taihape is also the home of Revival Furniture, a delightful wee find of so-kitsch-it’s-cool Kiwiana.  The team at Revival Furniture re-cycle, re-furbish and re-love old chairs by re-upholstering them in New Zealand-made vintage wool blankets.

This lovely concept is the brain child of Elizabeth Cottrell, an adopted Kiwi. She has combined her childhood love of trawling garage sales in her balmy home town of Atlanta, Georgia, with a more recent love for New Zealand wool, developed after moving to the much colder climate of high country New Zealand to marry her Kiwi sheep farmer husband. I reckon’ that’s a lovely story.  

Here are some of her lovely chairs:

Image of Revival Furniture Turquoise Chair

'Turquoise Taihape'

Image of Revival Furniture Orange Chair

'Campground'

Image of Revival Furniture 3 Seater

'Three's a Crowd'

Image of Revival Furniture Cranberry Chair

'Cranberry Cocktail'

Image of Revival Furniture Chair

'Cute as a Button'

Now, if I could just work out where to put such a retro beauty…

For contact information or just to check out some more really rad’ retro chairs, click here.

(All images sourced from Revival Furniture)

Squint and you’ll miss it…

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by Joanna in Design

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Bespoke, British, Chair, Chaise, Chandelier, Fun, Furniture, Home and Garden, Homewares, Interior design, Lisa Whatmough, Mirror, Shopping, Squint Limited

Squint Wing Chair

Squint Limited Wing Chair

I (electronically) popped into one of my most covetable retail spots today. Imagine my wonder when I saw they now have such a following, they ship internationally!

Squint Limited is a most fabulous furniture design company which produces wonderfully colourful bespoke furniture and home accessories.  It’s unique. It’s joyful.  It makes me smile just to look at pictures of their creations…

Squint Large Baroque Mirror

Squint Limited Baroque Mirror

Squint French Chaise

Squint Limited French Chaise

Squint Limited is the brainchild of the very clever and creative Lisa Whatmough.  She clearly has a love of textiles and couples this passion with a modern take on British decorative furniture.  The end result is the very recognisable Squint signature style.

Squint Chandelier

Squint Limited Chandelier

Squint Armchair

Squint Limited Armchair

Wouldn’t you love one of their pieces (or two or three?)

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