No knockoffs, please
Here are a few upholstery pieces that won’t be knocked off anytime soon:
One is William Gordon’s Kimono Chaise, covered with obi fabric, the same finely woven fabric that’s held kimonos together through centuries of Japanese women and men (even Samurai warriors wore them).
The Kimono Chaise was shown recently at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York by kimono new york, a company dedicated to promoting the use of kimono and obi fabrics for fine furnishings and décor. The chaise made another recent appearance at the CA Boom Design Show in Beverly Hills.
Gordon also will show his elegant Hakama Chair with Ottoman, with an obi fabric used for the seat that recreates a painting by Ito Jakucu, an 18th century Japanese pain know for his realistic depictions of nature (the frame is from a solid block of carved walnut).
The chaise is breathtakingly beautiful, with flowing, organic asymmetrical lines and fine silks interwoven with threads made of gold.
Don’t spill anything on it, and for god’s sake, keep the kids off. The price tag is $35,000.
Another piece at the ICFF also has a hefty price tag, but the investment in materials was big to start with.
Like the metallic look? Vermont designer/artist Johnny Swing welded 6,800 quarters together to make a sculptural lounge chair. Don’t know how comfortable it is, but it’s probably going to be the only one in the neighborhood with its price point of $72,000. That’s a lot of rooms from Rooms to Go.
You like the look but the price is a little high? Swing’s butterfly chair is made from 15,000 half dollars and is a whole lot cheaper at $59,000. So far he’s sold 29 of them.
roger commented:
Where has it been said that "some people have more money than brains"
Victor Pedraz commented:
I am very glad to see blogs like this one in FT. They serve to remind people that the furniture industry is alive with design and creativity and kicking. It may sound whimsical but in reality, items like those mentioned that separate the intellectual from the banal and serve to give the art of making furniture a story line worth reading and enjoying.


















