Man wedges antique chair into his Porsche, Islington, London, 07/2024
Dead chair behind the Alma, Newington Green, London 07/2024
9 stages of Steelwood Chair, 2008/9.
Image courtesy of Magis S.p.A.
Our laundry chair, Steelwood Chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec 2008/9. 07/2024
The blue stools, Perugia. 06/2024
New Chair
Earlier this summer, I was fortunate enough to marry the woman of my dreams. As part of wedding tradition, it is customary for newly-weds to compile a list of household items to furnish their marital home. However, neither Olivia nor I wanted much, could think of what we needed, or desired to fill our already cramped one-bedroom flat with more miscellany. The haste with which we decided to marry also meant that precious weekend time spent organising nuptial logistics would have been misplaced traipsing around a London department store, barcode scanner in hand, targeting items we neither needed nor wanted.
Fortunately, Olivia and I both love furniture. This proved particularly fortunate for her, as when I moved into her neat, wholesome, and tidy Islington home, I brought with me five chairs, a dining table and a stool amongst my possessions. I'll happily admit now that these additions were perhaps a bit much and did cramp the home somewhat. Consider it water under the bridge.
Fortunately, Olivia and I both love furniture. This proved particularly fortunate for her, as when I moved into her neat, wholesome, and tidy Islington home, I brought with me five chairs, a dining table and a stool amongst my possessions. I'll happily admit now that these additions were perhaps a bit much and did cramp the home somewhat. Consider it water under the bridge.
An old chair; the Laundry Chair is case in point of cramping the house
In our wisdom, we decided to list vouchers for our favourite local interiors shop, twentytwentyone on Upper Street in Islington, as our wedding gift preference. We reasoned that we lacked space for numerous new household goods, and our lease was due to expire at summer's end. Why not pool any vouchers we might be forunate enough to receive and invest in some choice pieces of furniture?
Purchasing a new chair or item of furniture is never straightforward. Numerous considerations direct our thinking:
- Price: Can we afford it?
- Value: Is it worth it?
- Durability: Will it withstand everyday use?
- Emotional: Will we still like it in two years' time?
- Practicality: Will we actually use it?
- Aesthetics: Will it complement our existing décor?
- Post-purchase over-thinking: Do I even like it?
Our new chair
Our New Chairs
We ultimately decided on two chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames, licensed by Vitra in the UK and Europe. Licensing and authorship in design is a fascinating topic, one I've pondered extensively both as a designer and in my research during my master's in design history.
Charles and Ray Eames, though no longer with us, continue to captivate the design community with their dynamic, creative legacy. Their designs are now managed by the Eames Office, their family business, which reportedly generates an estimated $2.8 million in annual revenue. One can reasonably assume that most of this comes from royalties on Eames products still sold today, with each sale returning a percentage to the family office. Given that most royalty agreements in the furniture sector hover around 5%, the enduring popularity of Eames designs in both public and corporate sectors is evident.
Vitra and Eames advertisement, 2019
Source: Vitra
The Eames' use of fibreglass came in response to a competition organised by the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1948. For the "International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design", their initial entry featured a metal shell, which proved too complex and ultimately expensive for mass production. Such competitions were common throughout the post-war Western world as nations sought to discover innovative uses for materials developed during World War II, while households rediscovered new waves of domesticity and sought to embody modern living.
The Eames chairs' innovative design is particularly evident in their use of fibreglass for the shell. While the concept of glass fibres dates back to ancient times, the modern form of fibreglass emerged through a series of developments in the early 20th century. Hermann Hammesfahr first patented a method for producing glass fibres in 1880, creating a cloth woven from glass and silk. However, the fibreglass we know today was serendipitously discovered in 1932 by Dale Kleist, a researcher at Owens-Illinois. Whilst attempting to weld glass blocks, Kleist inadvertently created a shower of fine glass fibres using a metal-spraying gun with molten glass. This chance discovery spurred further research. In 1933, Owens-Illinois patented an efficient, cost-effective method for producing glass fibres. Two years later, they partnered with Corning Glass to refine the product, patenting "Fiberglas" (with one 's') in 1936. The companies merged in 1938 to form Owens-Corning, which remains a major fibreglass producer today. The developments of the 1930s paved the way for commercial production and widespread use of fibreglass. The ability to mass-produce fine, flexible glass fibres and combine them with resins to create strong, lightweight composites revolutionised numerous industries, opening up myriad new applications – including, crucially, furniture design. This material innovation allowed the Eameses to realise their vision of affordable, mass-produced furniture that didn't compromise on form or function. Their experimental use of fibreglass in chair design not only solved a production challenge but also introduced a new aesthetic and tactile experience to mid-century modern furniture.
Extract from the Eames entry to the MoMA "International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design"
Source: Museum of Modern art (MoMA)
Source: Museum of Modern art (MoMA)
Both chairs we chose feature fibreglass shells set on metal frames. Fibreglass is a wonderfully tactile material for chair-making; the weave of glass fibre impregnated in the polymer provides strength, rigidity and a pleasing texture. In our basement flat, the morning sun catches the glass fibres beautifully, contrasting with the dull matte of the parchment-pigmented polymer in a subtle, warm manner.
The first chair to arrive is a rocking chair, a brilliant seating typology worthy of its own tome. Its organic form blends armrest, backrest and seat, balanced on sculpted rockers by a lightweight metal frame resembling either the Eiffel Tower (hence its nickname) or metal fencing. This style, much imitated since, either captivates with its simplicity and subtlety or evokes a Californian lifestyle that people wish to bring into their homes.
We chose a rocking chair not just for its style, but for its future potential—we hope to one day rock a child to sleep in it. In this sense, our purchase decision is also a vision of our future together. However, this future will require more space; I've already stubbed my toe thrice in three days on the extended walnut rockers that stretch across our kitchen-diner thoroughfare.
I think I'm already in love with this chair. I can envision it staying with us, ageing alongside us wherever we may be. It's a fitting memento of our special day, and it seems appropriate that we received our wedding photos the same weekend the chair arrived. The chair is a new character in our daily life. This is why every chair or stool I've purchased to date is entirely different. It's akin to sampling different wines—why would one want to drink the same thing forever? Why would one want a set of seats that sit exactly the same? Certainly, it might look more cohesive, but it's far less interesting.
As we look forward to the many years ahead, we do so knowing that these carefully chosen pieces will age with us, accumulating memories and evolving over time. They are not just seats, but companions – tangible reminders of where we've been and the life we're building together, one overthought purchasing decision at a time.
Charles and Ray Eames, together forever
Source: Eames Office LLC
Source: Eames Office LLC
References:
https://www.tencom.com/blog/the-history-of-fiberglass
https://managingcomposites.com/2022/02/03/the-history-of-fiberglass/
https://www.xometry.com/resources/materials/what-is-fiberglass/
https://www.hermanmiller.com/en_lac/products/seating/side-chairs/eames-molded-fiberglass-chairs/
https://www.vitra.com/en-gb/product/eames-fiberglass-chair
https://www.eamesoffice.com/product/eames-molded-fiberglass-4-leg-base-side-chair/
https://reallywellmade.co.uk/products/eames-fiberglass-side-chairs
https://assets.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1795_300100935.pdf