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 …..
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.