smow design spring Top 5: Chairs

The Top 5 chairs from the smow design spring. In no particular order.

Foldable cardboard chair by Stuart Miller at deignersblock, Milan

Foldable cardboard chair by Stuart Miller at deignersblock, Milan

We lie: there is a slight order. First up is our favourite chair from the smow design spring: Stuart Miller’s unnamed foldable cardboard chair from the designersblock showcase in Milan. Over the course of the smow design spring we didn’t see any thing that even came to close to capturing Stuart’s simple, practical and comfortable chair. We’ve sadly lost sight of the project a little, and lack the requisite degree in Information Technology to navigate Glasgow Caledonian University Website, If any one knows anything please let us know!! Unnamed foldable carboard chair. Quality seating instrument!

And as of now … In no particular order.

Duct Tape Chair by Jason Miller

Duct Tape Chair by Jason Miller

Duct Tape Chair by Jason Miller. In our original post from the floor of the ICFF press room we mentioned the similarity between Jason Miller’s Duct chair and Easy by Klausner and Carpenter for Established and Sons. After long and careful consideration, however, we decide to include Duct chair in our tip five. A confident and wonderfully comfortable chair, Duct Chair is also not only aesthetically pleasing but engages the user and so transforms from a passive chair into active element of a room. Duct Tape Chair. Quality seating instrument!

404 H by Stefan Dietz for Thonet

404 H by Stefan Dietz for Thonet

404 H by Stefan Dietz for Thonet. In our world bar stools count as chairs, mainly because we spend a lot of time on bar stools – having as we do a raised breakfast bar in the kitchen of the (smow)flat. For Thonet Stefan Dietz has created in 404 H a wonderful addition to one of the most tradition-conscious German design houses. In comparison to some other long established design houses, for Thonet tradition if more than just marketing rights tio the name of a long since deceased designer; rather for Thonet tradition means continuing the tradition that made that designer successful and famous – and in the case of Michael Thonet that means innovation.404 H. Quality seating instrument!

And uncomplicated, high quality wooden furniture.

Such as the 404 H.

Vegetal by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra in Milan

Vegetal by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra in Milan

Vegetal by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra.  Even before the start of the Milan design week Vegetal had already established itself as one of the stars. And it didn’t let us down. Yes it looks like a cheap garden chair, yes it reminds one of Chair One by Konstantin Grcic, but no it is neither of these things. The fruit of four years labour by our favourite porcupine and fox, Vegetal is a wonderful, stable, comfortable and versatile chair perfect for indoor and out. And we’re fairly certain unbreakable. Vegetal. Quality seating instrument!

Bansko Bo lounger chair and Ottoman by Design Apparat

Bansko Bo lounger chair and Ottoman by Design Apparat

Bansko Bo by Design Apparat. Without question one of the finest proper loungers we saw this spring, and that from one of the best new design studios from the smow design spring. We live in Leipzig, we don’t like nOSTalgia, we do like many elements of the design style that developed in Eastern Europe  during the decades of iron curtains, Warsaw pacts and ICBMs. Bansko Bo is a wonderful new design, but one that has its roots unmistakably in the Bulgaria of the 1970s. Looks good, works and will probably last longer than the regime of Todor Zhivkov. Bansko Bo. Quality seating instrument!

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