What if I told you today's featured designer produced one of
the world's most popular chairs - so popular in fact, that more than 20 million
and counting have been made - could you guess his name?
Robin Day (1915-2010), along with Lucienne, his textile
designing wife, are referred to as the Charles and Ray Eames of England.
Having risen to prominence at the Festival of Britain in 1951, Day brought
modern design to the people in the form of cheaply produced, but well designed
and made furniture. The chair I mentioned above is of course the
ubiquitous stacking chair known to every school and church hall in the world.
Cheap, colorful and practical, it was nothing but revolutionary in the 1960s
when it was designed!
His furniture definitely draws on the clean Scandinavian
lines of the era, but by using less expensive beech along with veneered plywood
and vitrolite glass, his designs transformed furniture production in the UK
which saw Day's modern style as a way to move from the heavy solid furniture of
the pre-war period while also skirting the government's post-war restrictions
on material use in private homes.
Even in one of his last furniture lines, Avian, Day's principles of design and
economy are clear. I love the clear reference to wings in the armrests, as
well as its industrial look showcasing the nuts and bolts of the structure.
image credits: In order - knibdesign, modern room, loving vintage furniture; Cream and Chrome
To go to the blog's HOME page click here
click here to "like" me on
Facebook
0 comments:
Post a Comment