Friday 27 April 2012

Chair No.14: the Victorian era’s most enduring design

"Never was a better and more elegant design and a more precisely crafted and practical item created.”
Le Corbusier

Photo by Roberto Basile (Milan), a winning entry in Thonet's 2009 Photo competition 214x214: A Chair the World Over, which marked the 150th birthday of this chair.
History has not been kind to Victorian Style and the decorative elements that defined it – not the doilies, the over-stuffed upholstery nor the abundance of pattern and ornamentation...and definitely not the skirted lampshades! The ‘more is more’ Victorian decorative style was criticized right out of the gate by designers and academics of the day, as being derivative and mixing references from past eras in a seemingly random fashion. Perhaps most famously, William Morris was a harsh critique who founded the Arts and Crafts movement, a reform movement that stemmed from an opposition to Victorian excess (and industrialization…but I digress).

In his book At Home: A Short History of Private Life, Bill Bryson writes entertainingly about Morris’ experience as a 17 year old, attending the 1851 World’s Fair at Crystal Palace…where he was so disgusted by what he saw that he ran outside and vomited in the bushes.
One bright spot in the haze of all this is Michael Thonet, the creator of Chair No.14 (now known as No. 214). Thonet (1796-1871) was a German cabinet maker who developed the process of using steam to bend wood. The resulting bentwood designs had a simple aesthetic (refreshing in the sea of heavy, ornately carved furniture of the day) that were lightweight, practical and inexpensive to produce. Designed in 1859, Chair No. 14 has been in continuous production ever since.

Picasso had a Thonet rocking chair in his studio. Le Corbusier, the Modernist architect, designer and urban planner, was also a fan. Despite the iconic pieces that are attributed to Le Corbusier, he wasn't very interested in designing his own furniture (perhaps the subject of a future post), preferring to furnish his interiors with simple pieces by other designers, such as Thonet's No. 14.
With more than 50 million of these versatile chairs having been made to date, it is considered to be the most successful industrial product in the world.  
Six easy pieces: the first industrial product to ship pre-assembled.
Thonet's bentwood chair continues to be a popular part of the decorating mix.
A variation of No.14 with a contemporary colour treatment.
(photo by Jason Loucas)
Today, Chair No. 214 continues to be manufactured by Thonet’s eponymous company, and is available in Toronto through Design Within Reach (www.dwr.com). I highly recommend Bryson’s book (for a taste, download his podcasts at http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-bill-bryson-podcast/id403477844).

References:
http://www.remodelista.com/posts/paints-palette-yellow

Saturday 14 April 2012

Jim Thompson: An American in Bangkok

"You have not only beautiful things, but what is rare
you have arranged them with faultless taste."
SOMERSET MAUGHAM (written in Jim Thompson’s guest book, 1959)

Jim's Dream in charcoal, from the new House on the Klong wallpaper collection
 
Jim Thompson was an American architect who first traveled to Thailand as an officer of the U.S. Army during WWII. Enchanted with the place, he relocated to Bangkok after the war, where he practiced architecture briefly before becoming deeply involved in the Thai silk trade. He played a major role in reinvigorating the industry (indeed, he is known in Thailand as the “Silk King”). Thompson established The Thai Silk Company in 1951, a company which has grown into an international empire today, encompassing a designer fabric line and a chain of retail stores and restaurants.
Jim Thompson, 1906-1967
Thompson built an elaborate, traditional Thai house on the bank of the Klong Maha Nag (a canal off the Chao Phraya River), where over time he amassed an outstanding collection of Buddhist statuary, traditional Thai paintings and Chinese export porcelain. In 1967, Jim Thompson disappeared on a hiking trip in the Malaysian jungle, and what became of him remains a mystery to this day. Leaving everything to the people of Thailand, his incredible property is now a museum housing his vast art collection, a must-see for style tourists in Bangkok.

The Jim Thompson House, Bangkok
Recent developments at Jim Thompson include forays into wallpaper (see image from House on the Klong collection, above) and last year's launch of the Tony Duquette Collection (Duquette was a Hollywood design icon...and the subject of a future post). And restaurants! This one is definitely on my hit list for the next time I’m in Singapore. Housed in a “Black & White”(traditional colonial house, also known as a conservation house), it features authentic thai cuisine and décor (perhaps some JT fabrics??)

Jim Thompson Restaurant, Singapore

Golden Sunburst, from Jim Thompson's Tony Duquette line
Malachite-inspired Gemstones, a signature design by Tony Duquette

In Toronto, Jim Thompson Fabric is available to the trade through Telio & Cie.
References:
Jim Thompson: The House on the Klong, Warren, Beurdeley & Tettoni, 1999


Monday 9 April 2012

Wanted: The Gondola Sofa

To wish, desire, crave, obsess or even covet. When we set our sights on a new piece for our home, our desire can be more or less intense. Sometimes we want to fill a specific void, such as a new rug for the family room or sconces for the master bath. At other times, we might fall for a specific piece without having a clear idea of where it would go, what void it would fill. Whether practical or whimsical, functional or strictly decorative…we always tend to want something.

My current craving is for a gondola sofa. It’s new to my wish list, new in fact to my consciousness. But now I can’t get its curvaceous lines out of my head. Gondola sofas stem from the American mid-century. Here are a few key examples:

La Gondola by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, 1957

Inescapably a period piece, Wormley’s version says "mid-century", loud and proud. I love the spandrel detail on the legs, which is reminiscent of traditional Chinese cabinetry (I’ll have to elaborate on this in a future post). http://www.cowanauctions.com/auctions/item.aspx?ItemId=45062
Harvey Probber, c. 1960

Harvey Probber’s version (pictured above in oxblood leather) is masculine and incredibly handsome. The more I look at it, the more I like what I see. http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=389448
Adrian Pearsall, c. 1960


Finally, here is one by Adrian Pearsall, who designed a number of versions during the 50's and 60's. While I wouldn't turn away any of these pieces, this one is my top pick. I love the simplicity of its lines, and it has a timeless quality (it could just as easily be Art Deco as Mid-Century). This piece would be easy to contemporize with fabric and context.

The Palm Springs livingroom of designer Emily Summers


The living room pictured above features Pearsall’s gondola sofa. In this case, the seat cushion is fixed and tufted (and what a difference these upholstery details make to this piece). http://www.architecturaldigest.com/decor/2012-04/emily-summers-palm-springs-home-slideshow#slide=5

Thursday 5 April 2012

Why Jean Desert?

What is in a name, you ask? Galerie Jean Desert was the name of Eileen Gray's Paris shop, located at 217 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré (1922-1930). I'm referencing this name as an homage to Gray, arguably the object of the most profound and enduring design crush I've ever had. I'm also sentimental about beautiful (yet financially flawed) retail endeavours, having been there once myself.

Gray will undoubtedly figure in many of my future posts. The name of this blog is subject to change, however, if I hear anything litigious from her estate...


Eileen Gray, 1878-1976

John Dickinson's nod to the ancient Egyptians



The Piece:

The Etruscan Table by John Dickinson, in his signature matte white plaster.
Dickinson was an American interior and furniture designer (1920-1982). Created during the 1970s, animal-legged chairs and tables such as this are amongst his is most iconic work.

 

 

 

 

The historical reference

Specifically Egyptian. We see animal-leg or paw motifs incorporated into furniture design throughout the eras, so this alone is not unique to the ancient Egyptians. What distinguishes Egyptian pieces is that the animal paws are typically all facing in the same forwards direction, which we view as naturalistic. By the classical periods of Greece and Rome, we see a greater emphasis on symmetry, with animal legs facing outwards, in opposite directions. And so it continued from then on.

In addition to Egyptian design, Dickinson referenced other styles, eras and global currents in his work.

 

Present day 

David Sutherland represented Dickinson’s original line prior to Dickinson’s death in 1982. Flash forward to 2012, and Sutherland has launched an authorized and reissued collection of Dickinson’s furniture designs. The fabrication is new and improved, using glass fiber reinforced concrete to make the pieces more moisture-resistant (and therefore appropriate for outdoor use).

During the three decade break in production, Dickinson’s whimsical pieces remained popular with decorators and collectors alike, commanding premium prices in the secondary market. At a recent auction at Christie’s in New York (Important 20th Century Decorative Art & Design on December 17, 2011), a vintage Dickinson side table fetched USD $24,000 (net), nearly three times its pre-auction high estimate of $9,000. This is in line with pricing through dealers (check out the current offering at www.1stdibs.com). 

It will be interesting to see what happens to the prices these vintage pieces can command in light of the availability of the new production (the Sutherland collection is priced from USD $970 to $3,500 and available to the trade only). I’ll be watching!

References & Credits:
Egyptian Chair pictured above: New Kingdom (1550-1186 BCE), wood with ivory inlay. Collection of the Louvre, Paris
www.sutherlandfurniture.com