Chair Chick

 

Just a Swingin'

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New York has already capitulated to autumn but it’s still sunny in South Florida. [Note to doubting Thomases: I’m still happy to be calling NYC home!] I got to dish on that very topic for the Home Infatuation blog (the first of the two posts is live today) so I thought it fitting that Chair Chick comb the site for a yummy offering that would do a sunny outdoor space justice. Voila! 

How would you like to spend a relaxing afternoon gently swinging in this baby? The hammock back has a comfortable contour and comes with a head pillow with a zippered outdoor acrylic cover that is resistant to any weather and fading from the sun. The hammock is constructed of a corrosion-resistant aluminum and weather-worthy resin wicker, which is extremely durable and resistant. Don’t you just dig the deep chocolate brown? 

If Home Infatuation had a beat, per se, it would be elements for distinctive outdoor living. Chair Chick says you have to check them out, but not before you put your boots on. Our hammock-happy video ought to get you in the mood for that kicking back this afternoon! Call it out hammock honky tonk!

 

Filed under  //   Hammocks   Home Infatuation   John Anderson   Outdoor Furniture   South Florida   Swingin'  
Posted October 19, 2010
 

You Spin Me Right Round

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Chair Chick is back across the pond today to celebrate Thomas Heatherwick's nod as the recipient of the London Design Medal during the London Design Festival a few weeks ago. His whimsical "Spun" chair hit the scene like gangbusters and has been picked up by any contemporary design shop that has chops the world over. I spotted it earlier this year at Arango in Miami, which is no surprise given that the store's owner, Marianne Russell, has an eye for greatness! “It’s a huge honour and a great surprise to be given the London Design Medal," Heatherwick remarked. "London is the city I was born and brought up in; an endlessly exciting mish-mash of a place that inspires me and my team in the projects we do.” 

Festival Director, Ben Evans, said of the newest star on the design horizon: “Thomas Heatherwick is a designer who defies definition whether he is working in in the fields of architecture, product design, sculpture and urban planning. He has developed a considerable reputation for his practice, creating a range of extraordinary objects and buildings; from rolling bridges to seaside cafes to spinning chairs. His stunning British Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo demonstrates to the world that British design is innovative, creative and good for business."

From spinning chairs to, well, spinning big hair: now that's a segue, no? We stayed with the Brits for today's entertainment. You can kick me the next time you see me for getting this tune stuck in your head for the rest of the day!

Filed under  //   Arango   Dead or Alive   London Design Festival   London Design Medal   Marianne Russell   Spun Chair   Thomas Heatherwick   You Spin Me Round   YouTube  
Posted October 12, 2010
 

Paper, Scissors; Rocks!

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Giles Miller has been called the King of Cardboard and I simply can't resist featuring royalty when the chance arises! This fantastic Pool Rocker by Giles comes to Chair Chick by way of Modenus, a design-savvy site created by Veronika Miller (who happens to be no relation to the designer) and a talented gang of visionaries who bring the best of design to your finger clicks. "We first came across Giles Miller when we joined a crowd peering through the window of his shop strategically located between the East London Sunday markets in Brick Lane and Columbia Road," says Veronika. "Giles does cardboard. He does amazing things with cardboard. We've featured his cardboard grandfather clock, his cardboard handbag and the cardboard glasses for his Lego table, which admittedly is not made of cardboard. But what we really admire about Giles is the way he has taken the least glamorous of all materials and made it his own. And, when you see what he is now doing in making extraordinary wall panels from cardboard, he has also made it glamorous."

There's a beautiful mural by Giles in Stella McCartney's flagship store in Paris' famed Palais Royal galleries, and he was commissioned to create pieces for the Lighthouse Gallery in Glasgow. But, as Veronika is quick to point out, this is a chair blog, so what of his paper perches? "His Pool Rocking chair is everything you expect cardboard not to be. It is big, surprisingly comfortable and robust," she explains. "Okay, it is not the most elegant piece of furniture but it is fun. And most of all it is testament to Giles Miller's mastery of a material others overlooked." We'll definitely second that emotion: take it away Smokey!

Filed under  //   Brick Lane   Cardboard Furniture   Chairs   Columbia Road   Giles Miller   Glasgow   I Second That Emotion   Lighthouse Gallery   London   Modenus   Palais Royal   Paris   Pool Rocker   Smokey Robinson & the Miracles   Stella McCartney   Veronika Miller  
Posted October 11, 2010
 

Roll With It!

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Sunday, October 10, is the last day to vote for products in Interior Design Magazine's Best of Year, or BoY, awards. Chair Chick found this ultra groovy chaise lounge called the "D-Lux" by Royal Botania. It combines ergonomics, geometry and comfort (and we promise despite its aerodynamic appearance, it will not mow the lawn!). The lounge was inspired by the female body with its concave and convex shapes that were fashioned from the cutting and forming of aluminum plates. There's a coordinating table made with an aluminum frame and a Corian top. You can vote for it here.

It's Friday and how about a little Steve Winwood to ease us all into the weekend? 

Filed under  //   Best of Year awards   BoY Awards   D-Lux Lounge   Interior Design Magazine   Roll With It   Steve Winwood  
Posted October 8, 2010
 

London Calling!

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I came across Helen Amy Murray’s products in a remarkable stand, Crafted UK, at Decorex while I was in London last week (Wow; was it just ten days ago? My how traveling and jet-lag morph timelines!) I featured her wallcovering on my International Design Examiner page and I thought her chair was perfect for a nod because it has a textural beauty that makes it a nice addition to a contemporary room while the style of the chair means it would also jazz up a traditional or transitional interior. I greatly admire design elements that “cross over” in this way. 

Murray is a participant in "Crafted," a mentoring program passionate about connecting the skills of those who have built successful businesses with those who have the potential to do so, thus her inclusion in the show. Every individual involved in this project has a fundamental belief in craftsmanship and an appreciation for objects beautifully made and it was obvious in the quality of the products in the booth. Crafted finds each participant the right mentor, offers a series of business workshops, connects them to a group of expert advisors, and creates dynamic platforms to help them promote and grow their businesses. Crafted has been developed by Arts & Business and Walpole, and is supported by the American Express Foundation. Congrats to all of you who are involved in this effort, as it will likely spawn many of our future great talents in the arena of design!

Since I'm jet-lagged and punchy, just having returned from Europe last night, I thought I'd leave you with a bit of London brash and dash with a bit of The Boss thrown in: happy end of the week everyone!

Filed under  //   American Express Foundation   Arts & Business   Bruce Springstein   Crafted   Crafted UK   Dave Grohl   Decorex   Helen Amy Murray   International Design Examiner   London   London Calling   Saxon Henry Examiner   The Clash   Walpole  
Posted October 7, 2010
 

The Chair Politic

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New Yorkers are rumbling about the traffic and the disruptions with President Obama in town to speak to the General Assembly at the United Nations this week. Chair Chick has news of something that's working as it should, which we'd like to think will offset the gridlock that's likely going on a few miles away (but of course it won't)! It's the result of a collaboration between the architectural firm HLW, the German manufacturer KFF, and M2L, the triad teaming up to outfit the entire General Assembly Hall with custom seating. Each communications bench features a cluster of four KFF Unit chairs attached to a custom-made beam designed for Bosch technology, which allows representatives to easily plug in and hear the interpreter. What's also incredible is the quick turn around: it only took four weeks from drawing to mock-up. Wait: just four weeks from drawing to mock-up? Are we talking furniture here? It has taken longer than that for Muammar Gaddafi to regale the group of global leaders with some of his speeches!
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Filed under  //   General Assembly   HLW   KFF   Longest Speech at U.N.   M2L   Muammar Gaddafi   President Obama   United Nations  
Posted September 23, 2010
 

Sock it to me!

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It was such a treat to meet Snug Furniture founders Alex Brandon Hendricks and Maybelline Té at this year's ICFF. Their booth was a standout for the fun and flirty design sensibilities of the dynamic duo. The pair is continually inspired by the evolving character of current life, which they aim to express in a thoughtful language of materials and master craftsmanship. Their products are artful explorations in shapes and forms, which feel at once fresh and familiar. "Each artistic design reflects the essence of the Snug Life," says their Facebook page, "functional, beautiful, personal comfort that is truly at home now. Now a couple as well as business partners, Hendricks and Té grew up in the furniture business and met at a furniture showroom. They claim that if some people have each other at "hello," they had each other at mortise and tenon joints! With their combined manufacturing, retail, and design background, they have formed a diverse and dynamic design collective. Chair Chick spotted their Emulsion Lounge Chair in Desert Dune designed by Debbie Palao and thought it would be a great way to liven up the last half of this week, which has New York buzzing with everything fashionable (yes, New York Fashion Week is kicking off, literally, as I am writing this). The uber-groovy chair, which sells for $2850, is made of sustainably grown mahogany wood and dyed abaca twine. When I saw it, I thought it would have been a great signature piece in "Laugh-In" giggly girl Goldie Hawn's living room so I couldn't resist a little clip of her shenanigans. Enjoy!

 

Filed under  //   Debbie Palao   Emulsion Lounge Chair   Facebook   Goldie Hawn   ICFF   Laugh-In   Maybelline Te   New York Fashion Week   Snug Furniture  
Posted September 9, 2010
 

Catch the Wave!

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One of Royal Botania’s sexy seats for the outdoors has just come off its "Catch the Wave" tour, during which it landed at The Hampton Classic in Bridgehampton (where Danielle De Vita snapped this photo last week). It’s more than simple seating, really, as the hammock-parasol made of stainless steel and perforated fabric, which blocks out 86 percent of the sun's rays and is semitransparent, is all-embracing like a sweeping swath of seclusion. The part chair/part sunshade/part swing sells for $23,439 without the base or the cushion.

Filed under  //   Chairs   Loungers   Outdoor Chairs   Royal Botania   Sunshades   The Hampton Classic   Wave  
Posted September 6, 2010
 

Down the Garden Path...

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Chair chick is on the prowl again and she has unearthed one of her favorite profiles that's been given a bright new finish! First envisioned by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the shapely back and arms of this bench have become ubiquitous in the manicured English garden. Gloster has created a queenly white version, called the Marlborough, for their new Estate collection. The resilient coating, which is achieved with multiple layers of marine-grade paint over kiln-dried mahogany timber, means the pieces in the collection are low-maintenance mainstays in the outdoors or beautifully finished icons indoors. Hard to believe Lutyens designed this stunning bench in the 1890's because it's as classically at home in our modern-day settings as it was in the dew-drenched allées of his time.

Filed under  //   Chair Chick   Estate Collection   Garden Benches   Gloster   Lutyens Bench   Marlborough Bench   Sir Edwin Lutyens  
Posted August 23, 2010
 

Will America be MAD for Patrick Jouin?

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Okay, designophiles: we have big news! French designer Patrick Jouin (yes, he's a hottie, but he's also talented) is making his American museum debut this November at Museum of Arts and Design (And you know who will be busting down the door to get in, right? Chair Chick at your service!). Jouin will be staging a multimedia installation at MAD that will examine the role of "gesture" in the making of a culinary dish. When I was in Paris this past February, I toured the phenom's exhibition at the at the Centre Pompidou (see my favorite post about the trip on Roaming By Design). I'll admit, it was difficult to pay attention due to the hoard of college-aged girls crowding around us asking for his autograph, but we managed to hold our own with the trim, handsome designer who walked elegantly around the space, a motorcycle helmet slung casually over his forearm. His designs in the varied exhibit ranged from eating utensils to subway token booths. His creativity seems to know no bounds, which is why he never goes anywhere without a sketch pad. "I have two in the seat of my moto," he said as he kissed the air above both cheeks in parting! If you didn't get to visit the Pompidou, here's a great video that gives you a taste of his versatility and read my piece on my Examiner Page. Above is Solid C1, one of the chairs that will be featured at MAD.

Filed under  //   Centre Pompidou   MAD   Museum of Arts and Design   Patrick Jouin   Roaming By Design   Solid C1  
Posted August 18, 2010