CHAIR & MEL

Mel was curious to see how long it would take to make something so beautiful. Conveniently the hardware store was opposite her flat. Mo grinned and rolled his eyes as she walked in. She handed him the cutting specifications. All the widths were standard so in less than half an hour she was back home. The very first Crate chair was made in the early 30s by Gerrit Rietveld, the son of a joiner. His design was born out of the global recession, using materials readily available to everyone – it could be made out of an old packing crate. It makes perfect sense that Mel should love this chair, with her childhood in Brazil, a country steeped in Modernism but one where poverty has compelled people to be inventive and improvise. In just over three hours the chair was finished. She made it as a present, a reading chair for Leo, in their twelfth year together.

14 Jul 2013