Chair Vla 76 by Vilhelm Lauritzen

Vla by Vilhelm Lauritzen

Carl Hansen reissued this chair in cooperation with Vilhelm Lauritzen Architekten Studio. Originally Vilhelm Lauritzen designed the chair together with Finn Juhl who then was employed by Lauritzen for the Radiohuset in Kopenhagen.

In 1921 Vilhelm Lauritzen founded today’s Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekten Studio shortly afer graduating from the Copenhagen Royal Academy of Architecture. After his peregrinations across Europe in the early 1920s, Lauritzen became influenced by Modernism and was an active agent in its introduction to Denmark. Lauritzen’s talent as an architect allowed him to use elements from the classical principles of architecture acquired from his studies and then combine these with his great attention to functionalism, light and form within his architectural commissions of the time.

The above elements are significant components in the architect’s work which are demonstrated within the prestigious and iconic commissions of the National Broadcasting Building Radiohuset (1936-1941) and the Copenhagen Airport terminal in Kastrup (1939). Lauritzen’s work on the Radiohuset was not limited to the structure of the building and with the architect Finn Juhl, an employee of the Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekten studio, they meticulously elaborated various elements of the interiors. Distinguished by the refined use of materials and exceptional craftsmanship the furnishings were beautifully executed by the master cabinetmaker Andreas Jeppe Iversen. Parallel to the functional rigour, the architect’s spontaneous and genuine inspiration is evident in the natural curves and elegance that characterise his sophisticated interiors.

(Not sure where I got this quote… ah after some thought and search i found it back: it was Pillips)

I found the photo’s at Nest, a UK interior shop. € 7,000.- plus for one chair is expensive indeed.

AA1 Sofa Bed by Alvar Aalto for Misura Emme

It happens that I’m surfing the internet and find something I would like to feature here on the blog and I make a note or put something somewhere on my computer and forget about it. All of a sudden and sometimes eons later I can refind it on a place I would not reckognize as some place to put down items for future posts on Chair Blog. So I found Misura Emma. It exists already since 1902 and seems having collaborated in the 1930ies already with Alvar Aalto to produce this wonderful sofa bed. Would love to have it, but pff expensive somewhere in the € 7,000 nds.

Ida Wool Lounge Chair by Mariekke Jansen

Ida Wool Lounge Chair by Mariekke Jansen

The Ida Woollounge chair emerged at the close of 2022 as a personal queest by Jansen to design “a new classic”—a lounge chair built from waste wool yet capable of becoming iconic in its era. Rather than standard foam, the chair’s interior is entirely filled with 100 % Dutch wool, sourced from farm waste and shaped via a folded-tension technique—a method inspired by mattress-making and thread winding, where wool is knotted and folded to form both structure and cushioning. The cover, made of felted wool or recycled polyester velvet, anchors the wool internally without rigid framing—delivering an enveloping seat that molds to your body but holds its character over time.

Sustainability & Longevity

Jansen explicitly left behind foam to avoid microplastics, VOC emissions, and premature breakdown. Wool offers thermoregulating, hypoallergenic, biodegradable performance, staying fresh and supportive for decades.
Importantly, the chair can be opened, fluffed, and refilled, allowing users to adjust firmness or refresh the shape (and even replace the cover) instead of discarding the entire chair when it softens—a mindset shift from disposable to repairable and durable design.

Form, Comfort & Experience

The Ida chair carries a quiet, tactile aesthetic—soft-edged, inviting, and adaptable. Its visual simplicity belies its structural ingenuity: folds create tension that defines the shape while offering multiple postures—straight-backed, slouching, or curled—based on mood and body position.
The size is intimate yet generous (approx. 90 × 100 × 75 cm with seat height around 43 cm), ideal for personal and family spaces.

Vision & Legacy

Jansen’s ambition was to create something lasting—a chair that “gets better with time” rather than fading out of use. That vision shaped the Ida from conception: a furniture object that can be loved, maintained, and adapted by its owner over decades—even generations. The approach redefines value: reducing waste, enhancing emotional durability, and elevating humble materials to expressive design

Featured in exhibitions like Mia Karlova Galerie and design salons across Europe, Ida is gathering recognition among sustainable concept seating and collectible design circles.
Dutch Queen Maxima right and Mariekke Jansen left in front of a Ida Lounge chair in Milan, 2023

Queen Maxima seated in the Ida Lounge Chair

Feature Summary

Feature Details
Name Ida wool lounge chair
Designer Mariekke Jansen (NL)
Material 100% Dutch wool filling, recycled PET/polyester/cotton cover
Technique Folding‑tension method—no frame, all‑wool structure
Sustainability Biodegradable, refillable, repairable, low-emission
Comfort & Fit Molds to user, flexible posture, durable comfort
Production Made‑to‑order, small‑batch circular design

Why It Fits Chair Blog

Circular & Material-Driven Design: Ida encapsulates the movement toward zero-waste, biomaterials, and design with lifecycle in mind.

Human-Centered & Emotional: A chair that ages—with stories, softness, and evolving fit.

Illustrative Visuals: The images above show both the tactile surface (velvet or felted wool) and how the chair adapts to sitting postures—perfect for visual storytelling.

Dutch Ethos: Echoes the Dutch design tradition of sustainability meets sculptural comfort (much like the Rag Chair, but wool-based).

About Mariekke Jansen

here aptly dressed in wool

I am Mariekke Jansen, spelled with 2 k’s.
Before designing my chair, I had a business in vintage design furniture called Mariekke Vintage. I decided to add an extra “k” to my name because there were many Marieke Jansens in the Netherlands. I was actually the 6th Marieke Jansen during my interior design studies, and I graduated from the HKU at the same time as another Marieke Jansen. This inspired me because I like to be somewhat unique. I like to choose a different path than most people do. I was not made to obediently go to school until I ended up at the art academy. Here, you were encouraged to do things differently. The more unique and distinctive your own handwriting is, the better. I also realized that becoming an entrepreneur, where I could shape both my work and my life, would suit me best, so I started a business in my first year. I began trading in vintage design furniture, which taught me about entrepreneurship and what constitutes good design. At the art academy, I also discovered my own style. Once I graduated, my business was doing so well that I decided to pursue it full-time. Well, almost full-time, because at that time I also started making plans for my dream house.
Years later, when my house was completed, I felt that my business was lacking creativity, so I decided to stop it. At that moment, I completely changed my life. Just before my dream house was finished, I also ended my relationship with my then-partner. Living alone in this dream house was not an option, so we decided to sell the property. It may sound strange, but I didn’t shed a tear about it. After all, I had been living temporarily in Amsterdam because I also wanted to live in a city.

We sold the house and I bought a campervan.

I went from a relationship, a dream house, and my own business to a life where I traveled around Europe in a camper and found a new partner. It was during this time that I had the opportunity to think about a new venture. I wanted to create a new “classic,” an lounge chair that would later be considered iconic for this era and innovative.
This task seemed extremely challenging because the classics of today are exceptionally well-made, often looking untouched even after many years. However, what often goes wrong is the foam cushions used in the furniture. After about 10 to 15 years, they crumble and need to be replaced. By the end of 2022, everything came together in one sketch: an lounge chair made from waste, meant to last a lifetime and be circular. A wool lounge chair. In the Netherlands, wool has become a waste product because the quality is not good enough for the fashion industry. Wool lasts a lifetime and provides the perfect softness for a chair.
To put the wool under tension, similar to what is done with woolen mattresses, I came up with a knot. A cover made of felted wool, filled with only washed wool, which is then folded together, creating tension on the wool on the inside. You can fill the wool in such a way that the backrest is firm and the seat is soft.
via Adorno.

 

Rag Chair by Tejo Remy – A Sustainable Classic Reimagined

Chatgtp

I’ve been inactive on the blog for quite some time. Today I asked Chatgpt which chair I should feature as the next chair here. Maybe with the help of Chatgpt I can become more productive here. Chatgpt came up with the Rag Chair by Tejo Remy.

Originally unveiled in 1991 during his graduation at the University of Arts Utrecht, Dutch designer Tejo Remy crafted the Rag Chair using compressed layers of second‑hand clothing, secured with industrial metal pull straps—and a wooden base beneath it all. Each piece thus becomes a one-of-a-kind archive of discarded textiles, offering more than functionality—it carries meaning.

It is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

From Rags to Riches

The Rag Chair is constructed from stacked layers of discarded textiles — old clothes, rags, and other fabric remnants — tightly compressed and bound together with metal straps. Each chair is unique, both in material and story. It’s a piece that quite literally wears its past.
Remy, who is a member of the Dutch collective Droog Design, created the chair as a commentary on consumerism, waste, and the disposability of modern products. Instead of hiding its recycled nature, the Rag Chair wears it proudly, forcing us to reconsider what qualifies as valuable, beautiful, or functional. He

views the chair not simply as a collection of discarded fabrics, but as a tapestry of memories, reflecting the stories and lives of the materials used.

Design Meets Message

The chair’s unpolished aesthetic makes it more than just a seat — it’s a statement. It challenges traditional design values, favoring emotion, memory, and sustainability over perfection. The end result is a one-of-a-kind object that’s part sculpture, part archive, and fully usable as furniture.

Despite its seemingly chaotic structure, the Rag Chair is surprisingly comfortable. The layers of fabric conform to the body, creating a soft, almost personalized seating experience. It’s a design that asks you to sit with the past — literally.

Still Relevant, Decades Later

More than 30 years after its debut, the Rag Chair continues to appear in museum collections and sustainable design exhibitions worldwide. In an era increasingly focused on circular design and responsible production, Remy’s creation feels more timely than ever.

Why again attention for the chair?

1. Collaborations with Contemporary Brands
In 2022, Brain Dead, the LA-based streetwear/art collective, teamed up with Droog and Tejo Remy to produce a limited-edition run of Rag Chairs. These featured reclaimed garments from Brain Dead’s own production waste, pushing the piece into fashion-forward, Gen Z-aligned territory.

This opened the door to further design collabs in 2024–2025, with rumors of museum-limited drops and a new material twist using post-consumer industrial fabrics (e.g., denim scraps, deadstock techwear, and recycled military surplus textiles).

2. Increased Production with Ethical Oversight
Originally, Rag Chairs were custom-ordered, one-of-a-kind pieces. But in 2025, Droog began exploring small-batch production using materials sourced from European textile recycling programs.

This “ethical reboot” maintains each chair’s uniqueness while slightly streamlining production, making it more accessible to collectors, museums, and sustainable design lovers.

3. Reintroduction in Critical Design Circles
In 2025, the Design Museum London, Stedelijk Museum, and several biennales have re-featured the Rag Chair in shows centered around:

Circular Design

Anti-Design Movements

Emotional Durability in Objects

4. Digital/Metaverse Interpretations
A surprising twist: A 3D digital version of the Rag Chair now exists in platforms like Spatial.io and Unreal Engine. Digital artists and brands are using it as an avatar seat in metaverse showrooms and as a symbol of climate activism in virtual exhibitions.

5. Renewed Market Interest
On the collectible market, original Rag Chairs are gaining new value, especially those with provenance or tied to early Droog exhibitions. Auctions at Phillips and Wright20 have reported higher-than-expected hammer prices, driven by the sustainability hype and renewed design-world interest in the 1990s.

Rag Chair = Tejo Remy solo

The Rag Chair was designed by Tejo Remy in 1991, before he officially teamed up with René Veenhuizen. It was part of Remy’s breakout series of conceptual works for Droog Design, including the famous Chest of Drawers (“You Can’t Lay Down Your Memory”).

At that time, Remy was working independently. The Rag Chair is entirely his concept — an early example of anti-design, material reuse, and narrative-rich furniture.

In earlier posts I had attributed this chair also to René Veenhuizen. Which was wrong and which I will correct in the respective posts.