Category: chair history

Hopmi Chair by Rietveld Discovered in 2008

Hopmi Chair by Rietveld

Hopmi Chair by Gerrit Rietveld

In 2008 this chair was donated as lose parts in a bag to the Centraal Museum of Utrecht, a Dutch museum with a large collection of Rietveld furniture. Although the design was known. It was believed this chair was never produced. Well until it was donated to the museum: It appeared a small Dutch manufacturer by the name of Hopmi had produced some pieces. Originally Hopmi produced locks for bikes, but in the prewar 30ies it ventured into furniture because of the economic depression. The chair can be taken apart and stored as a flatpack. Ikea avant la lettre.

Via Design Blog.

Update

Just to demonstrate how wonderfully small the world has become with Internet:

I searched a bit on Hopmi and it turned out that the factory made other parts for bikes as well. I found this shield:
Hopmi Shield in China Bicycle Museum

Found on a Dutch Blog reporting about a visit of the China Bicycle Museum in Beijing….where this Hopmi shield was on display.

Via Chinablog.nl

The Birth of Ruth Francken’s “Homme” Chair

The Birth of Ruth Francken’s “Homme” Chair

The Birth of Ruth Francken’s “Homme” Chair

I came across this photo of a humanoid chair. I searched the web via Google Images (copy the image in the image search field and you get similar images and links – click this link for the result). So I found a post at MONDOBLOGO with more background info.

In 1971 French designer Ruth Francken took a fine looking young man and copied his beautiful backside with plaster to create a mold for the “Homme” Chair (Ruth was French and Homme is French for man).

The Birth of Ruth Francken’s “Homme” Chair

The Birth of Ruth Francken's "Homme" Chair

Homme-Chair-by-Ruth-Francken

The final Homme Chair was isued in a limited edition. Later (1988) two more series of limited editions were made: 150 examples in black, 150 examples in white by Gallerie X, 1988, lacquered polyester and tubular steel.

Some auction results:

  • Christie’s South Kensington, 4 March 2008: Estimate £3,000 – £4,000 ($5,955 – $7,940) – Price Realized £9,375 ($18,609). (Second edition).
  • Christie’s Paris 28 May 2008: Price Realized €57,850 ($91,243) – Estimate €15,000 – €20,000 ($24,000 – $31,000). (First Edition, lot 400). At the same auction there was a second chair that fetched €48,250 ($76,101) (First edition, Lot 399.
  • in 2011 at Christie’s London (King Street, October, 25) the result was £17,500 ($27,948) (First Series)

Mondrian (De Stijl) Inspired 7 Series

Mondrian Inspired 7 Series by Arne Jacobsen
This 7 series Chair by Arne Jacobsen has been finished in a Mondrian (De Stijl) inspired way.

Via matchstickbox et cetera.

Hans Wegner’s Circle Chair pp130 by PP MØBLER

Circle-Chair-by-Hans-Wegner-for-PP-Mobler

Hans Wegner’s Circle Chair pp130 by PP MØBLER

For me PP MØBLER has a website as it should be. Easy navigation and easy access to press material. Very nice photo work.

The story of PP Møbler starts in 1953. Two brothers, Ejnar and Lars Peder Pedersen, only recently graduated as carpenters, wish to set up a workshop of their own. They buy a small plot of land in Allerød and quickly gather eight young and talented cabinet makers.

The rest is history. Today, PP Møbler is one of the few remaining cabinet making workshops in Denmark. With a production covering the Japanese and the American market with furniture from Hans J. Wegner among others, the workshop is now an internationally recognised company with a strong tradition for crafting design furniture of high quality. Motivation has always been the love of wood and a stubborn belief that technique, ingenuity and craftsmanship can be combined in the strive for quality.

The craftsmen at PP Møbler are innovative and thorough working, encouraged to explore and develop skills in the constant search for a better way, a more precise way, of refining the production process, never compromising respect for the material.

The vast majority of PP Møbler’s wood supply comes from the beautiful sustainable forests of Denmark and Germany. The joy of working with wood as an organic whole makes environmental considerations a natural part of PP Møblers work ethics.

The sole purpose of PP Møbler is to create beautiful and functional furniture that can withstand daily use for generations.

Master of Craftsmen
Søren Holst Pedersen

PP has had a long working relationship with Hans Wegner. Frequently he let them develop prototypes and preproduction models of chairs he designed. Originally Hans Wegner wanted the Circle Chair be made in steel. It was PP Møbler who convinced him to do it in wood. They even constructed a special machine to create the exacting round form.

In the Circle Chair Video Hans Wegner inspects the creation of a circle chair himself.

Thonet no 1!

Tnonet no 1

Thonet no 1!

Have to feature the Thonet no 1
Photo by G. VanHoutte

Via Thonet no 1!!! – Chair Blog | Tumblr.