Letter from the Editor: Building a Better Mousetrap
March 1, 2004
How many variations on a piece of furniture does the human race really
need? Surely, by now, someone, somewhere, has perfected the one chair that suits
everyone and every occasion?
But that would be too easy. Evolution dictates
that people get taller and, often, wider. No one I know sits on low wood stools
or high thrones any more. Fainting couches sound quaint. We hardly have time to
recline. Reality is usually a soft, comfortable easy chair (there is a reason
it’s called “easy”) with an ottoman or a good-sized coffee table to put your
feet on. Throw in some straight-back dining chairs and a swivel office chair for
good measure, and you’ve completed the seating triangle.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
But you can’t blame
architects, interior designers, product designers or industrial designers for
trying, year in and year out, to come up with their versions of the ideal
seat. (Click image to enlarge)
We expect the Italians to produce stylish stuff, but how have they
managed to do it for so long? Elizabeth Helman Minchilli notes: “What amazes me about Italian furniture is that
while it always looks completely fresh, the sense of style is totally effortless
at the same time. Much like the Italian sense of personal style, but translated
to the home.”
In England, furniture has replaced art as the cool new
commodity. Jenny Wilhide interviewed some
rising stars. “Interiors have become more in line with fashion, with new trends
coming in faster cycles,” says Neisha Crosland. “Inexpensive brands like Ikea
have made the British much more vain about their interiors, much more design
literate, and more interested in changing trends.” Adds Matthew Burt, “Our
furniture is most definitely opinionated.” Sheridan Coakley, founder of SCP,
notes: “There’s an essentially English quality to what we do that people
recognize and appreciate. We acknowledge our past, going back to our Arts and
Crafts movement, but we are not burdened by it. Like our music and fashion
industries, this gives an impetus to originality.”
American interior
designers are slowly but surely changing the look of the furniture industry with
custom lines that are being mass-merchandised, and in the process they have
acquired the sort of celebrity status reserved for chefs or pro golfers. The
American look is neither retro nor minimal. Rather, it is a sophisticated,
low-key take on classics that have been adapted to 21st-century
lifestyles.
William Kissel talked to the
reigning diva of divans, Barbara Barry, who sees the designer name game as the
catalyst for change. “When I went to my first High Point furniture market in
North Carolina, I was overwhelmed when I saw a bunch of men in blue suits
kicking furniture like tires. That was the business. So it’s been an evolution,”
she says. “But I got there by doing the work—by going to the Mexican upholsterer
and tearing things apart to see how they are made. These days a lot of young
people want to design a few things and then be instantly successful. And I say,
if that talent is out there, it will find its way.”
Adele Cygelman
Editor
collection@robbreport.com
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