“For men who have to write a lot, and over prolonged periods, a desk at which they can work standing up is an indispensable piece of furniture for altering their posture and for maintaining their health”, opined Journal der Moden in May 1786. An age when, famously, only men wrote.

Yet advantageous and positive as standing to write was, prolonged standing could, as Journal der Moden notes, lead to tiredness.

A solution was however at hand for all who preferred working at a standing height desk over a prolonged period: a chair, “or a so called donkey … on which one sits as if on a saddle, and which must be just high enough that one can sit half-standing…”1

A half-standing sitting solution whose nickname can be readily derived from the proposed sitting position.

And a half-standing sitting solution that for all it is thoroughly familiar today, was novel, one could almost argue revolutionary, and even enlightened, in 1786…….

A chair "just high enough that one can sit half-standing" as depicted in Journal der Moden, May 1786. Assuming to scale the sitting height is approx 78 cm. (Image via <a href="https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00107658/JLM_1786_H005_0020.tif" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thüringer Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Jena</a> cc0)

The Historia Supellexalis: "B" for Bouroullec

Bouroullec

A Ronan; An Erwan; An unassuming, poetic, connection.

According to the Greek philosopher Anaximenes of Miletus, air is the source of everything.

And whereas in the intervening 2500 years we have come to better understand the true nature, character and properties of air, as the exhibtion Design on Air at the Centre d’innovation et de design Grand-Hornu illustrates, air remains a very potent, stimulating, and protean creative force.

Design on Air, Centre d'innovation et de design au Grand-Hornu

German designer Klaus Hackl’s understanding of design is one based on the principle of evolution not revolution, of understanding the context in which a project arises, and of the value, and logic, of craft processes and craft scale production. And of the value, and logic, of craft processes and craft scale production augmented by digital technology.

Keen to learn more, we met up wit Klaus Hackl in Munich….

Flare by Klaus Hackl for Hausgenossen (Foto Eva Jünger, courtesy Klaus Hackl)

Backrests appeared to be a major feature of those new products Konstantin Grcic presented at Milan Furniture Fair 2017. Or perhaps better put, from those new product we saw by Konstantin Grcic, we interpreted the backrest as being central components. But it wasn’t all about backrests, a few thoughts on new products for Magis, Plank, Flos and Mattiazzi.

Noctambule by Konstantin Grcic for Flos, as seen at Milan Furniture Fair 2017

Much as we moan, moan, and moan about Milan Furniture Fair, it is a rare opportunity to get a snapshot of where individual designers are currently at: differing products for differing manufacturers being displayed in relatively proximity allowing for a nice overview. A few considerations on the latest projects by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra, Magis, Flos and Mattiazzi.

Verticale by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Flos, as seen at Milan Furniture Fair 2017

Ulisse Daybed by Konstantin Grcic for ClassiCon, as seen at Milan Furniture Fair 2016

To the casual observer selecting five outstanding products from the Milan Furniture Fair is a neigh on impossible task, so

Fionda table for Mattiazzi, Ormiale Bordeaux & Bac Armchair for Cappellini, as seen at the exhibition A&W Designer of the Year 2016 - Jasper Morrison, Passagen Cologne

2016 sees the 20th anniversary of German architecture and design magazine A&W’s “Designer of the Year Award.” Following on from

The 360° Stool by Konstantin Grcic for Magis (2009) and the Nelson Perch by George Nelson through Vitra (1964)

On March 10th 2015 a jury at the Central District Court of California in Los Angeles concluded that Pharrell Williams

Uncino chair by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Mattiazzi, as seen at Milan Furniture Fair 2015

It was invariably more through good fortune than good planning; however, at Milan Furniture Fair 2015 Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s

Konstantin Grcic Panorama Vitra Design Museum Netscape Swings

One of the first telephone calls Mateo Kries and Marc Zehntner made upon assuming leadership of the Vitra Design Museum

A&W Designer of the year 2013 Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

It being January, IMM Cologne once again provided the backdrop for the presentation of the A&W Designer of the Year

V&A Museum London British Design 1948-2012 Innovation in the Modern Age architecture

At the end of March the V&A Museum London opened the exhibition “British Design 1948-2012. Innovation in the Modern Age”,

Furniture for the Senses Finn Juhl 100 Watercolour

For all in our near Copenhagen, and who aren’t planning travelling to Weil am Rhein in the coming months, the

London based design studio Barber Osgerby stands as a testament to the fact that high quality work will always win

Luddites! Not a phrase normally associated with (smow) To the best of our knowledge no (smow)employee has ever smashed an

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are without doubt two of the brightest stars in the international designer furniture heaven. And two

For 26 years James Irvine has been quietly and unassumingly influencing European industrial design. Immediately after graduating from the London

Working as a furniture designer is a lot like working as a musician or an author. You establish a reputation

Having sold everything, including our kidneys and the neighbours cat, we can finally afford to pay for a hotel in

With our recent design hotels post still simmering on the back-burner of critical acclaim the first photos reach of us

Your (smow)blog team didn’t become the internationally feared and monitored crew we are simply because we travel the world fearlessly

Good news for all of you in Copenhagen, or who are planning visiting the Danish capital. Perpetual smow favourites Ronan

For us one of the discoveries of the ICFF was Brooklyn based designer Jason Miller. Miller’s design contains undeniable elements

We came, we saw, we sat on the floor… But it needn’t have been so….. Once again the Europeans show