Full of Christmas chair!

bambu-3.jpg

Woo hoo, I got a chair for Christmas. I know you don’t care - I think you should be jealous but you’re not are you. My lovely new chair is not an old classic that you’ll recognise but it is from the company that still lives and breathes the thinking of one of the greatest designers/architects of the 20th century and someone who’s work I personally adore - Alvar Aalto. This finnish bloke worked mainly in Finland with most of his great work happening around the 1930s. His work is special because unlike most designers at the time who were doing great things based on the idea of machines taking over the earth making humans into nothing more than soft pink cogs, he was mixing the sense of efficiency that came with this modernist ideal with a strong sense of naturalism. Lovely.

The company he set up in 1935, Artek, is still around today and is famous for continuing to produce his elegant designs in bent plywood. They’ve recently launched a new range under the design directorship of Tom Dixon (he’s done quite a few nice things too - check it out). It’s called Bambu and it looks nice. The fact that it’s made of bamboo is quite good. Bamboo is a perfect renewable resource - it grows fast and it’s really strong. The new range designed by Henrik Tjaerby beautifully expresses the natural characteristics of the bamboo. Its spirit is therefore a perfect fit with the Artek tradition. And I like it very much.

Have a great ‘08!

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