ChairKIT_ by Dan Civico

ChairKit_ bay Dan Civico
Dan Civico is an artist, designer and maker based in the UK.

The design of ChairKIT_ is a happy accident.

During the recent recession I began designing a high quality, handmade chair for the domestic market that retailed under £100. I set about experimenting with a mix of production and handcrafted processes in order to fulfill this criteria.

The result was a range of chairs that combined CNC routed birch plywood with various handcrafted, solid timber inserts including walnut and oak.

The chairs, although they didn’t quite make the £100 mark (selling at £120), sold out not long after they were first exhibited and I have since had many re-orders. However, it was a subsequent visit to the CNC manufacturers that interested me more.

The off-cuts from the chair’s leg profile, which I’d asked to be discarded, were still in the workshop and they instantly struck me as being very similar in dimension and proportion to that of the seat pan. I went straight back to my studio and within an hour I had designed the first version of ChairKIT_.

The idea is simple; it maximizes materials — sustainably sourced birch plywood, cuts down on processes and provides people with the experience and pleasure of constructing their own chair. I feel this idea will make people more inclined to keep them, giving them longevity and ultimately a nod to the environment.

Also found via the via the Deconstruction tag of Design Milk …..

Chair Fix by Ben Wilson

The idea seems similar to that of the Chairfix by Ben Wilson who exhibited it at The Aram Gallery already in 2003. However Ben Wilson asked various other artists to create their own unique image on the cut out plate.

Puzzle Chair By Ego

Puzzle Chair by Ego

Puzzle by Ego 2

As I started this blog with a puzzle chair, I’ll always be on the lookout for more of those. Here is an outdoor puzzle chail by Paris based Ego, three brothers, Jean, Yvan and Nicolas Sommereux, who design and create mainly outdoor furniture.

Via Furniture Fashion.

Panels Chair by Sebastien Wierinck

Panels Chair by Sebastien Wierinck

Panels Chair by Sebastien Wierinck 2
Sebastien Wierinck has developped a new puzzle chair which can be put together very simply because of the very precise cutting of the joints.

And you know what? I like puzzle chairs…I started this blog with a puzzle chair 🙂

Nina Saunders "Smoothl" Puzzle Chair

nina_saunders_smoothl

I was still pondering whether I would like to be identified with “chair porn”, because I am really tempted: “Sex Sells”!

I did a couple of “Image Googles” with terms in the neighborhood of Chair Porn. Then I came across the Wrong Distance blog that pointed me to Nina Saunders. Wrong distance had coined this chair Chair Porn, but I prefer Puzzle Chair, because I started this blog with a puzzle chair.

Final decision: I’ll not use the term “porn char” as part of a series.

Do stay tuned for more work of Nina Saunders who’s been around chairs for quite a while already!

Nina Saunders was born in Odense, Denmark in 1958 and trained at Central St Martin’s, London. Currently she works in London
More links: Sculpture UK. She’s exhibiting in the 2009 Venice Biennial as part of the Danish Pavillion. Also featured at Andrehn Schipjenko.