“Form is a mystery that defies description but brings people pleasure.”
- Alvar Aalto

Artek is different from most companies in that they have a huge product portfolio from the Aalto’s, which was created in the 1930’s. His designs, their ideology, are still the backbone of what Artek does. Artek can’t compete with the big companies that push out lots of products, so they don’t do a new design if there isn’t an innovation in the materials or manufacturing. That’s why Artek often works with architects.

Does the world need another chair? Certainly that’s a reasonable question to ask when the planet is already populated by hundreds, if not thousands, of different chairs—chairs for working, dining, relaxing, playing, napping, waiting, or, even, admiring—some are a wonder to behold but awkward to sit in and some are so comfortable that one is reluctant to get up again.

That legacy continues today, as seen in this latest release by Knoll™, and their collaboration with Formway Design, the Wellington, New Zealand-based collaborative. It’s not a chair. It’s a movement. Introducing Generation by Knoll™. The first chair that lets you sit how you want. The Generation chair offers a new standard of comfort and unrestrained movement, supporting the range of postures and work styles typical of today’s workplace. Discover how Generation’s flexing and supportive features enable individual expression, and explore how this revolutionary work chair reflects our commitment to environmental sustainability.

It’s worth noting that the concept of seating that moves as you move was not entirely new. In fact, one could argue that the bean bag chair of the 1960s, which quickly became a ubiquitous symbol of hippie informality, could be considered a forerunner of Generation by Knoll: each time the user shifts position on the bean bag chair, the “beans” (actually polystyrene beads) rearrange themselves to support you—comfort is entirely a result of automatic responsiveness. For Knoll, it was time to take this idea of elastic design—where the product rearranges itself in response to its user—to a new level.

 

Kartell produces this neat looking all plastic chair, designed by Philippe Starck with Eugeni Quitllet.

 

 

 

It is available in several transparent colours as well as a few matte colours.  In all their fun shades, these chairs are sure to please.

 

 

Lounge chair by Warren Platner, 1966 for Knoll

Atop of an unusually small pedestal base for such a large seating surface, the Platner lounge chair is an impact maker in any environment.    A beautiful mixture of metal rods and soft cushy textile make for a sculptural look and a cozy sit.   Designed in 1966 by Warren Platner, for Knoll, this chair has potential for retro glam and sophisticated modern.  

 When accompanied by its coordinating side table, this chair becomes parent and small tot. 

Platner chair with side table

The side table also features metal rods with a glass disc that perfectly fits inside the circumference of its top.  It is sweet and subtle yet the light bouncing off the torso of this table has the making for a small but sparkly dance party.  The Grandmother of this collection of course is the dining table that allows the dinner guest to gaze inside a tunnel of arched metal stems through its glass top surface while enjoying their meal. 

Platner Dining Table

Platner Dining Collection

 

This table is like a giant piece of elegant jewelry for your home, as is the whole Platner collection. 

On Sale Now until Feb. 7^th 2010.

The Warren Platner Collection

 

Designed by Verner Panton in 1969, the Living Tower embodied the spirit of the 60’s interactive ‘living’ landscapes.  Verner designed many great pieces, breaking away from the more traditional techniques and materials being used by his fellow designers. 

Hans J. Wegner Wishbone Chair

He took the living landscapes theme to a whole new level with the “Fantasy” Landscapes he created for Bayer in 1968 and 1970. 

"Visiona II". One of Verners Fantasy Landscapes

The Living Tower is still available through Vitra today, although not an inexpensive piece.  The Tower serves as Art, interactive furniture and a fantastic, eye-catching way to divide a room.

Verner with family

The Living Tower is available in red, matt blue and chocolate.  It is constructed of a Birch Plywood Frame, uses polyurethane foam, classic upholstery and the outer dimensions are 78 3/4″ square.  There are 4 levels at which you can lounge on the Living Tower.

4 Levels of the Living Tower

A fun,  funky piece of furniture sure to be a conversation piece for years to come.

Verner Panton went into production on his first Panton chair in 1967.  That was the Panton Classic, a uniquely styled chair made of a rigid expanded plastic, and using cantilever technology.  This chair is distinguishable by its shiny appearance due to the lacquered surface.  Also, it is only available in Red, Black or White.  The Panton Classic was the starting point for a long and successful line of Panton chairs, that now come in Junior (Child’s sized version), a set of Miniatures, and a more affordable version of the Classic known just as the Panton Chair which came in to production in 1990.

Red Classic Pantons being put to use

The advantages of the newer Panton Chair, other than it is about 1/5th of the price of the Classic, is that technological progress has allowed it to be made out of Polypropylene, and it is available in a wide range of colours.  You can now get it in White, Grey, Orange, Red or Chartreuse.  This chair has a matte finish, and is incredibly versatile.  I find the chair surprisingly comfortable;  I had assumed it would be cold, hard, uncomfortable and, well…plastic!  But I have to say it is now one of my favourites, and none of my qualms rang true.

White Panton Chairs

The Junior Panton is exactly the same as the newer Panton Chair, just about %25 smaller.  Perfect for children, and comes in lots more fun colours: White, Red, Orange, Light Pink, Light Blue and Lime (I wish they would produce these colours for us big kids!).

Junior Panton Chairs

A great gift option for a Verner Panton fan would be the set of Panton Classic Miniatures.  They are a 1:6 scale, and come in a  set of 5.  They are produced exactly as the originals were (materials, construction, etc.).  According to Vitra, on average it takes 5 hours of manual labour to create these little gems!

As a final note, I came across the picture below while surfing the net.  It amazed me the uses that Panton Chairs have been put to.   As you can see, these chairs have been customized, but what an interesting concept!  Enjoy!

Panton Chairs, St. Bartholomew’s Church, Chodovice.

This time of year all I can think of is a hot beach afternoon anywhere warmer than here-

On that note “Bikini” comes to mind….. the Eames wire chair benefits from a bikini as well….

Introduced in 1951 the lightweight bent wire chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames and produced by Herman Miller has the option of a criss-cross two piece leather pad (the “bikini”)

As a part of the permanent collection of the San Francisco MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum of  Art, this Eames wire chair would also be striking in your home or office to drool over day after day.

 We should consider spending some of this cold weather time in the museums and dream of the beach.

How cute is this!

Eames Elephant, Charles and Ray Eames 1945 by Vitra

Originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames in molded plywood, this adorable child’s stool/table/toy/best friend is now produced by Vitra in several different colours of plastic.   See more about Vitra Elephant by Charles and Ray Eames.

I was recently introduced to a really inspiring video on Emeco’s website, www.emeco.net.  I always knew that the Navy chair was designed for the US Navy, and that it has a 150 year warranty… but I never really knew what a cool all around company Emeco is until I explored their website in more detail.  These chairs are handbuilt and quality tested to the nines.  It takes 77 steps and 116 hands to make a single Navy 1006 chair.  As said in one of the video clips… “These chairs are made from blood, sweat, tears and love” and they’re built for life… err… two lives.  Green?  Any chair that lasts more than a lifetime is the earth’s friend… especially when it’s also made of 80% recycled aluminum.

I used to want one of these chairs because I loved the way it looked… now I want one because I love the way it’s made. 

Emeco 1006 Navy Chair

I say “Long and Hard” and what comes to mind? Of course it would be a freakishly amazing new modern lighting fixture with beautiful molded outer surfaces that look like liquid metal by Philippe Starck for FLOS. Whew… that was a mouthful.

When I learned of this cleverly named light, I was reminded of an image I stumbled upon in a Cassina publication involving Mr. Starck, again, alluding to the act that shall not be named. Okay…… sex. Leather handles attached to a Prive sofa? What could those possibly be used for? It may have been the naked woman’s arm draped inside the handle in the photograph that tipped me off. For those less inclined to bomp sha bomp in restraints, it can also be ordered sans the handcuffs.

sex is a beautiful thing.

UPDATE 2009/04/29:  A retraction… of sorts/err… advisory of sorts.  So… don’t set your heart on the Long and Hard light fixture. Turns out it wasn’t the most appropriate blog subject for this geographic… not available in the North American market But still very cool.