OVERVIEW
In March of 2009, I was invited to submit a design to the Re/Build Show in Brooklyn, NY. Made of mahogany and stainless steel. Manufactured by Material Process Systems, Brooklyn, New York.
INSPIRATION
In May of 2007, I just finished my 3rd year of my master’s degree program, and I had secured an apartment and a summer internship in New York City. (It’s worth mentioning that I scored a deal on a one bedroom apartment in the West Village at Houston and 6th Avenue, which I’m still pretty proud of to this day.) Getting the internship took a lot of persistence, but nonetheless, a 22 year old designer from a school in small town Kansas was on her way to test the waters of NYC.
After arriving at my apartment, I realized that I had no bed that night. The apartment was empty, and I had nothing to sleep on. So I pulled all of my clothes out of my suitcase, fashioned myself a “mattress” out of them, and managed to fall asleep without much trouble.
To my surprise, I woke up in the morning feeling okay, and not too stiff. I looked down to see that the layers of clothing had adjusted to nothing under my back, and all bunched up on the sides of my body, almost like a cocoon. I stared at this for a few seconds and realized that I had gone about creating my “mattress” all wrong. I should have arranged everything to the curves of my body for maximum comfort. It didn’t matter that the materials weren’t soft. It only matters if they form to your body. Quite the lesson to learn your first night as a designer in New York.
Two years later, after completing an architecture internship and an furniture design internship in Brooklyn, and on the brink of graduating from college, I was invited to submit an original design of a piece of furniture to a design show in Brooklyn. I drew inspiration from the lesson I learned on my first night as a wide eyed Midwestern girl in the big city.
The design of the etch chair mimics wooden floor slats enveloping a person, showing that you don’t need a cushion on your chair to be comfortable.
PROCESS SKETCHES
THE SHOW
The RE/Build Show was featured at Brooklyn’s Gallery 1889 in May and June 2009. Five designers were invited to submit original designs for display.
Preparations complete. Ready for the opening event to begin.
Opening event underway.
The etch featured on the gallery’s home page, advertising the upcoming show.
TOOLS
Sketching
Rhinocerous 3D
Project Details
Date: August 3, 2016