Interesting pieces of furniture - 16

[Anonymous]

Sorry all, been very busy lately with work and making things and not had time to post much.

However, here is the 16th piece of furniture for your consideration which was sent to me by one of our members a while back.

The member said:

Its not quite in the same league as EG the Barcelona chair, or Alvar Aalto's 402 or 406 chairs but it is nonetheless interesting, and I think it has a timeless appeal about it. It is definateley contempory yet there is an ancient almost egyptian elegance to the proportion's. It has been manufactured with a cnc machine by "Unto This Last" design studio run by 2 French designers out of Brick Lane, London. It is done to a high standard of finish, they operate on a fast turnaround basis, they do each of their pieces to order, with no stocks held. They assemble on site, you collect-no cost's for warehousing, packaging, transport etc, you can watch your pieces being made. Their aim is to create and sell furniture of a high quality at cheap mass production prices, so that lots of ordinary people can afford genuine designer furniture, pretty much in line with the pioneering ethos and aims of the original modernist designers of the early 20th century

All are welcome to comment on the pieces and please pm me with links to any photos that you would like featured here and a few lines explaining why


I will copy all items of furniture I post here into a single sticky thread in the Design Forum, thus creating a pictorial 'list' of interesting furniture here

 

[DomValente]

Clever idea and if you look on their site some old and very new ideas.
Not so sure it's value for money, cnc machines make life a whole lot easier, so I'm not overly impressed, had their goods been made by hand that would have been impressive, I think the public will realise that there robot made furniture suits the newly gentrified Hackney very well.
Or perhaps it's just professional jealousy

Dom

 

[Paul Chapman]

I quite like this piece, in the same way that young couples setting up home used to like stuff from shops like Habitat when it first opened and they wanted something 'cool' and a bit different. However, I then look at that hard, unshaped seat and back and think of my poor bum and spine - I think I would soon be asking for a couple of cushions

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Corset]

I quite like it for what it is. Its not really craftsmanish its more designer straight to machine production missing out the middle step . They remind me of high end habitat stuff too. We have a shop in Notts called Atomic i can imagine them selling this with a purple perspex table. I always think furniture like this looks great in a magazine but you would never love it and caress it (or is that just me :roll: ).
I also think these things should be very efficient in terms of materials and the number you can get from a sheet of ply, but these chairs look quite wasteful.
Owen

 

[mr]

Hmm
It's a truly unpleasant thing. Sorry.
Edit
Having just looked at their website there's nothing on there that I'd give house space too. At £110 for the chair in question I would also have to question their "ordinary people affording designer furniture" ethos as well.
Oh and it's still nasty.
Cheers Mike

 

[greybeard]

This boat is not floated.

A cynical application of just two steps of the duck logic - "looks like a duck, works like a duck,....therefore it is....".

Perhaps "an interim design exercise" would be a kinder definition?

Perhaps the photos don't do it justice?

Although having said that I can't see anything particularly pure or flowing or original/innovative about the design - or has the 'soul' been removed by the production process/simplicity?

No thankyou.

 

[Anonymous]

Visit their website, this chair is the dullest piece they make, I dislike the chair but like a lot of their other stuff

 

[Dave S]

I'd be embarrassed to have that in my home, let alone to have made it. Can't think of anything positive to say about it, I'm afraid.

Dave

 

[StevieB]

Looks a bit like insert tab A into slot B kind of stuff to me - the kind of kids toys or cardboard models you sometimes get.

Definately not my cup of tea I am afraid.

Steve.

 

[wizer]

I like it.

 

[LyNx]

thumbs up 8)

 

[ike]

Ergonomically very poor. You could skag your legs quite nastily on the front of the seat. I wouldn't give a fiver for it. Oh, ands it's bloody ugly!

 

[kafkaian]

The triangular cutouts and angularity are reminiscent of Nasa's Lunar Module to me - especially at the front, so my overriding feel is of "period astronautics"

Just don't subject me to an ink-blot test :lol:

Still deciding whether or not I like it TBH. Nice to know what it's made of exactly! The most appealing bit for me is the contrast between finish on the edges and bulk

 

[woodbloke]

Interesting tho' not sure I like it...in terms of 'fitness for purpose' it's got to be very uncomfortable 'cos the bit on the chair where your rear end connects with the seat is flat, so I fancy on that basis it has to be a 'thumbs down' - Rob

 

[Matt_S]

I like this, saw their website a while back and liked the concept and the designs. I'd agree they make better peices than this though.

 

[Slim]

 

[BradNaylor]

Sorry to drag up old topics, but I've not been around for long and have just found this series on 'interesting pieces of furniture'

I'm not too keen on this particular piece, but the concept outlined on this firm's website of having a CNC machine in the back room knocking out bespoke pieces within 5 days is an exciting one. I am a fairly traditional cabinet maker, but even I can see that this is the direction in which woodworking is inevitably headed.

The design possibilities opened up by production in this way are mind boggling.

Having said that, this chair doesn't look that good, or that comfy!

Dan

 

[Bean]

Sorry no its not for me, I find it a bit stark and it looks utilitarian. CNC cut panels are alright in the correct context, as something to hold up a roof, well yes they look good but not as a piece of furniture.

 

[ByronBlack]

Handy to make a ton of these for an event or a one off situation, then burn them or recycle them into toilet paper or something.

Nothing better than Ikea in my opinion, lacking of quality on almost every level, soulless design, cheap materials, no craftmanship or skill, bland, uninteresting, if this is the future of modern design I despair!

 

[Fecn]

I will agree that this is an 'interesting' piece of furniture, but sadly that doesn't mean I like it.

It looks desperately uncomfortable... Sharp angle on the front of the seat, dead flat base and back. Sharp corners on the tops of the legs.

CNC machines are nothing more than a clever jig. I don't understand quite why it is that when people get hold of CNC machines, they seem determined to ignore every other tool in the shop. Give me 45 mins with collection of sanders, and I reckon I could have that chair looking a lot more comfortable.