From now until February 2010, popular chair manufacturer, Emeco, will offer a 50 percent discount on any chair and stool in its online catalog to anyone sending in an old, clunker aluminum chair. Emeco will collect the unwanted chairs and send them to its recycling plant in Baltimore, Maryland, where the discarded aluminum will then be repurposed into future products for the Emeco line. Its easy to do too! Tell Emeco by email about the clunker chair or stool you want to trade up and soon you will be on your way to a new seat or two. Nothing like recycling!

As Emeco states, “We make chairs. That’s what we do. Handmade from 80% recycled Aluminum. It’s not easy. In fact it takes 77 steps to get there. Designed to last for 150 years. Now that’s what we call sustainability.”

C’est le restaurant Kong situé à Paris qui commanda ce tabouret design à Philippe Starck (d’où le nom).

Le tabouret design KONG est exceptionnelle par son design originale et la qualité des ses matériaux et finitions. 100% aluminium, process de fabrication artisanale très haut de gamme, design d’exception, tout ce que Starck fait de mieux pour cette assise design d’Emeco.

I’ve realized that I haven’t yet mentioned what we plan to do with the house.  Jacob and I really agree on style (probably why we get along in our art/photography business) so I’ve pretty much been given free reign to do whatever I want (plus he’s a boy and doesn’t care that much about decorating).  I do ask him before deciding on/buying things and he has alot of good input.  My inspiration comes mostly from an Apartment Therapy book (website) I found in the library back when we were looking at houses.

By the way the library is fantastic!  (FYI: borrow movies for FREE – no rental fees!) Even at the smaller branch by the new house they had an impressive selection of the kind of decorating books I’m looking for.  Not exactly the typical House Beautiful or Traditional Home style.

Some books I’ve found that represent what I’m going for are:

Apartment Therapy

Found Style

Home Cheap Home

Flea Market Decorating

Decorating Junk Market Style 

I don’t know exactly how to describe the style I’m going for.  I guess I’ll call it something like ‘modern eclectic vintage’.  Lots of things that have modern lines with minimal decoration.  Really plain stuff – no frills.  And throw in a little mid-century modern and a little bit of kitsch.  But I don’t particularly like Shaker or Mission style, really only Modern furniture.  I’ve been scouring antique malls, thrift stores and yard sales.  Right now we are looking for a silver/grey ’50s kitchen table.  I’ve found a few, but not THE ONE yet.  I’m also crazy about Emeco naval chairs and about had a heart attack when I found a 1966 one at a thrift store for $10 (brand new ones are $795.00).

I’ve also discovered I love metal stuff.  Metal jars, metal bowls, metal cabinets – whoohoo!  And glass too – green, cobalt, purple.  So pretty.  Looking for lots of little glass bottles to decorate the shelves by my kitchen window.

Another item on my want list is an antique pie safe.  I particularly like the ‘12 tin’ ones.  I’ve seen them from $325 to $650.  A little much for my budget right now.  I’ve even contemplated building my own.  (That could be fun, a pain in the butt and alot of cussing, but I sure would be proud when I was finished.)

I’m really looking at “junk” antiques.  Not the fancy stuff in the antique stores – more like what average people would have had and used in their homes.  That’s why antique malls are fantastic - every booth is different.  Bound to find one with the kind of stuff I’m looking for.  Also I’m not buying items just to fill a space.  I’m waiting to find only items I really love.

Old stuff is just so much more interesting than new mass produced plastic stuff.  It has character and I try to imagine the people who made it and used it and where all it has been. If you ever want to go antique/junk shopping just call me.

Another day of antique/thrift stores.  Rachel #2 went with me.  First we stopped by Friends Antiques and Collectibles (1201 N Central St, Knoxville).  Didn’t find what we were looking for there, though they have 3 floors of stuff.  Next was KARM thrift store on Hall of Fame Drive.  and I found an Emeco naval chair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was browsing the furniture and I spotted it.  My brain says….”Surely that isn’t an Emeco chair”  I walk as quickly as I can over to it without looking like I’m in a mad dash. “Don’t draw attention, someone else will grab it first.”  Touch the cool aluminum.  ”how much, how much”  OMG!!!  its $9 dollars and 99 cents!!!!! Give the chair a spin around.  A little dirty and a small tear in the seat corner.  Surely its not an Emeco.  ”Ahh, look on the bottom of the seat.”  Read, Read, Read, EMECO  AHHHHH!!!  MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE.  Yeah, brand new this chair is $795.00.  yes.  seven hundred ninety five U.S. american dollars.  This one is made in 1966.  A set of 4 from the 60’s in the same condition sold on ebay for $300.00 the other day.  They are handmade aluminum and they’ve been making them forever.

History

Emeco (The Electric Machine and Equipment Co.) was founded in 1944 by Witton C. Dinges.  Emeco’s manufacturing process is the result of collaboration with ALCOA to develop a seaworthy chair for military use.  ALCOA’s scientists and Navy engineers consulted with Emeco to produce the chairs in Hanover, PA workshops and they’re still made there today.

Don’t ever say I never taught you anything.

P.S.  If you ever see one of these out somewhere be it an auction, thrift store, antique mall, dumpster, McDonald’s parking lot, etc.  Call me and/or get it for me!!!!  Plain or Upholstered it doesn’t matter.

Design Philippe Starck (2006)

“When I close my eyes, this is the chair I see,” Philippe Starck. 100% Aluminum. Guaranteed for life.

Dimensions :

77*41*44 assise 46

version tabouret :

93*41*51 assise 60

Retrouvez l’ensemble de la sélection Forum Diffusion Home & Contract sur

www.forumdiffusion.fr

I’m Back! And, I have for you some great pieces of seating… So let’s get started!

Icon Counter Stool by Emeco and Philippe Starck

This first piece of seating is the Icon Counter Stool by Philippe Starck and Emeco (emeco.net). It is made of 100% Aluminum, 80% of which is recycled, and also comes in a chair and a bar stool. What makes this chair great is that you can basically get it in any color you want! The standard is either brushed aluminum or polished aluminum, but you can also Special Order it powder coated to meet your color specifications. I love the versatility of this chair!

Bunny Girl Chair by Sawaya & Moroni

This second piece is the Bunny Girl Chair by Sawaya & Moroni (sawayamoroni.com). The chair is formed with one piece of molded plywood which rests on legs of chromed steel in either a polished or satin finish. This chair would look amazing in a contemporary cafe setting. If you order more than 20, you can get the chair in any color you want.

Section Bench by Council

Lastly, this is the Section Bench by Council (councildesign.com). This flexible piece is perfect as seating, storage, and display. It measures at 88″w x 16″ h and can be manufactured in veneered wood, upholstery, stainless steel for outdoor use, and powder coated. I would love to use this in an outdoor application. The versatility of the individual pieces (which can also be stacked and joined together) would allow for a multitude of configurations.

A one-off aluminium bench, Tuyomyo (Spanish for ‘yours and mine’), designed by Frank Gehry for Emeco.

I have always loved this chair.

So, I was excited to find out that the company that has produced it for the past 65 years, is located only three hours from here, in Hanover, Pennsylvania!

Emeco, Inc. first started producing the No. 1006 chair during World War II, for use on Navy ships and submarines. The design was developed according to stringent requirements that the chairs be extremely light, non-magnetic (so as not to interfere with Naval instruments), and both fire and corrosion-proof. Another stipulation was that the chairs not be able to be dissasembled for use in weapons manufacturing by the enemy. The result was a practically indestructible, one-piece aluminum chair, that has clearly stood the test of time. Form + Function = Classic Design!

I admire Emeco for continuing to make this chair in essentially the same way as they did back then – their 77-step process has each chair passing through the hands of over 50 people from start to finish! I am dually impressed by their lack of complacency. They have not been content to rest on their past successes, but rather, have collaborated with designers such as Philippe Starck, Frank Gehry, and Ettore Sottsass (at the age of 90!), to come up with new designs consistent with their vision. In addition, they now make their chairs out of 80% recycled (40% post-consumer) aluminum. But, with their lifetime quality guarantee, the folks at Emeco believe that their products have classic staying power and hope they will never end up in the recycling bin.

On the Emeco website, there’s a really sweet series of documentary videos that gives a nice peek into the people and processes that go on in the factory everyday. If you like the chairs, I’d suggest checking them out.

Perhaps this is old hat to you, but hey, I’m easily excited.

C’est à l’occasion du salon Maison et objets de janvier 2009 que fut présentée la nouvelle chaise design Emeco signée Andrée Putman qui succède ainsi à Frank Gehry, Philippe Starck, Ettore Sotsass et Norman Foster qui avait précedemment collaborée avec la firme américaine.

La marque Emeco produit un grand nombres d’objets design, particulièrement des chaises design de grand designer.

Achetez des objets design sur Amateurdedesign.com

I think that antique love bench I saw in Paulus Hook last weekend awoke some strange obsession in me because I’ve spent the last few nights doing nothing but googling chairs! Seriously! Now I really believe that chairs by itself can make a strong statement in a person’s design philosophy.  I think I’m just subconsciously ”secret-ing” moving into a bigger space where I can decorate with reckless abandon!  Yes I do sound like a trying hard, frustrated artiste.  So this artist wannabe thought that you’d enjoy these chairs…

Check out this Hudson Armchair by Philippe Starck. He worked with this company called Emeco which makes furniture using recycled Aluminum.  I grabbed this photo from Design Within Reach. You should check them out. 

Cool no?

And look at how it goes so well with the wooden table also from DWR.  These are the same chairs without the arms and a brushed finish.

Lovely!

From this same website, I found this sleek wooden armchair.  I think mom will find inspiration from this design. It’s called the Juliana. It was designed by this Brazilian designer, Aristeu Pires and he uses sustainable hardwood from Brazil. 

This next one is my favorite. Still from DWR, it’s ideal for new york style (read: shoe box) spaces. Doesn’t Paul Smith come to mind? I love the laminate colors that’s applied on the plywood.  To make this ideal for small spaces, its legs are made of lightweight stainless steel tubes. Love it!

Doesn’t it just brighten up the room? 

I also found this vintage looking bench in Urban Outfitters.

Can you smell the amag? Haha!

Doesn’t this look like a bench you’d find in the basement of Forbes? I would consider putting it at the foot of my bed.  I also found these really cute folding chairs.  Again, inspiration for mom.  

Sorry, I couldn't find a way to enlarge this.

This next one is from Brocade Home.  I’d put it up there with the B-pop side chair (Paul Smith looking chair).  Doesn’t the quilt remind you of Chanel?  I really like this because its so understated, yet so bold, don’t you think?  Like me! Haha!  Sorry my BIDA slip was showing. 

But of course, I still have a soft spot for the Chelsea Wing Chair.  This design always reminded of Goldilock’s Papa Bear’s Chair. It brings back a lot of childhood memories so there is something very familiar and comforting about it. After all, this chair probably funded my european vacacion grande with you!  So this chair rocks beyond its classic, home-y design. I grabbed these photos from Pierce Martin. 

‘

‘Yun lang…Just thought I’d chair (corny!)

Chaise Navy

Chaise Navy
A partir de 1944

Conçue pour la marine américaine, la chaise Navy est devenue l’emblème de la marque Emeco et s’invite même dans toutes les séries américaines. Coup de projecteur sur une véritable icône.

En 1944, la marine de guerre américaine fait appel à Emeco pour des chaises aussi légères que solides, résistantes à l’eau et à l’air salé.
Fabriquée sans interruption depuis 1944, cette chaise est devenue un classique américain. Faite à partir d’une seule pièce d’aluminium soudé, cette chaise est travaillée à la main avec un procédé de 77 étapes et est conçue pour une durée de vie de 150 ans.
Sa silhouette est simple, classique, neutre, et sa durabilité et sa résistance sont sans égal. La chaise Navy plaît à une clientèle variée et convient à tout environnement commercial ou résidentiel. Grâce à sa versatilité et à sa fonctionnalité, la chaise Navy est tout aussi pertinente aujourd’hui qu’elle l’était il y a 60 ans.
Aujourd’hui, la chaise Navy est déclinée dans une large gamme répondant à tous les usages.

Matériaux

100% aluminium dont 80% recyclé.
Se prête à un usage extérieur et intérieur, non corrosif.

Dimensions

41 ou 53 × 86 x 50 (L avec ou sans accoudoirs x h x p en cm).

Finitions

La chaise Navy est disponible en trois finitions : revêtement en poudre (rouge et bleu transparent, blanc opaque lustré, noir opaque terne), brossé ou poli à la main.

Prix

472 € sur Amateur de Design.
609 € la chaise avec accoudoirs chez Made in Design.
Edité par Emeco.

Chaise Navy

Gamme Navy

Chaises Kong en aluminium brossé et accoudoirs (à gauche) et en aluminium poli (à droite)

Collection Kong (chaise et tabouret de bar)
Philippe Starck
2003

Créée pour le restaurant parisien du même nom, la collection Kong allie aluminium et design inspiré du château de Versailles.

Créée pour le restaurant parisien du même nom, la chaise Kong est une nouvelle fois une utilisation de la mémoire collective avec ses formes classiques. Le jeu de Philippe Starck est de mélanger les lignes d’inspiration château de Versailles en utilisant l’aluminium. Une grande élégance.

Matériaux et entretien

Aluminium recyclé à 80%.
Entretien avec du savon doux et de l’eau. Pas de nettoyant abrasif. Liquide spécial aluminium poli recommandé.

Dimensions

Chaise : 39 ou 44 x 88 x 45 (L avec ou sans accoudoirs x h x p en cm).
Tabouret de bar : 39 ou 44 x 103 ou 118 x 50 (L avec ou sans accoudoirs x h x p en cm).

Finitions

Aluminium brossé ou poli.
Il est possible de donner une couleur à l’assise grâce à la pulvérisation d’une poudre.
La chaise et le tabouret de bar peuvent recevoir un ou deux accoudoirs.

Prix

Chaise : 1340 € (aluminium brossé) et 2673 € (aluminium poli).
Tabouret de bar : inconnu.
Chaise et tabouret de bar édités par Emeco.

Tabouret de bar Kong de 118 cm en aluminium brossé

Tabouret de bar Kong au restaurant éponyme à Paris

Since I am moving to my new apartment in two weeks, it seems fitting to start out this blog with an ode to one of my favorite designs-  the Emeco Navy chair.   Blue Ant Studio has a fabulous write up of this piece, in which it is aptly called “an aluminum icon.”

The perfect place to rest your ass on a hot summer's day.

The original design starts at a cool $415.00.  In a dreamworld, I would find these on Craigslist or my fairy godmother would gift me with four of five of them.

However, I’m not the only person enamored.  Check out this sweet little original watercolor by artist Nan Lawson on Etsy:

For $15.00, I’m thinking this may be the only way I’ll be getting an Emeco into my apartment.

The holiday house below is situated in NSW’s Kangaroo Valley and was designed by the man lucky enough to call it home (at least on weekends), architect Alexander Michael. The house is stunning and the classic Emeco Navy Chairs chosen for the dining area perfectly compliment the minimal, industrial aesthetic of the home. Read more about it at contemporist.

Den franske designeren Andrée Putman har designet stolen Morgans for aluminium chair manufacturers Emeco. Stolen henter inspirasjonen sin fra Emeco’s 1006 Navy chair og Mallet-Stevens’ 1928 classic chair design. Stolen ble lansert sist måned i Maisen & Objet i Paris.

A new release from Greene Concept: the Emphasis chair. Peter Stindbergh, co-creator/owner, says this in his release notecard:

” Inspired by the modern classic “Emeco Navy”, a back-pleasing aluminium cast chair, the Emphasis range offers a LOD (level of depth) optimized modern sculpted look with only 7 prims (including shadowprim). Each Emphasis chair contains 4 poses that can be manually changed or automatically cycled.

Emphasis is available in 9 colors: Blue, Gold Metallic, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, Silver Metallic, Sky and Yellow. The menu-driven “Any Color” pack allows seamless tinting plus adding shine and glow.”

The classic silver, red, blue chairs:

The Emeco Navy chair has long been a RL favorite of mine — it’s simple, functional, and really ideal for most any scenario, indoors or out. If you’re not familiar, check it out at Design Within Reach. There’s a nice history of the piece, as well. Greene Concept has done an excellent job with the Emphasis chair, with great attention to the curves and the soft metal feel. I’m (still) in the process of re-designing my sim, and am now definitely planning to find a place for these chairs! I really like the silver chairs for an outdoor cafe…so time to start working on a cafe table. Oh, and a cafe.

Swing by Greene Concept to see all the available colors and try them out!

Garrett Pruter’s disco-reinvention of the chair

The reception last night for the collaboration between Noel Claro’s Beyond the Page class, Design Within Reach, and Emeco was a happening event.  Here are a few images.  You can see the whole collection (taken by Bradford Shellhammer) here!

A gallery shot of multiple wonderful creations

Michelle and Noel smile!

Charlotte Gudmundsson’s design

Steven Guarnaccia and Bradford Shellhammer*

Congratulations again to all who participated.  And, of course, thanks to all of those whole helped organize it–Bradford at Design Within Reach, Noel, and the fine folks at Emeco.

*image by Kim Oliver, DWR

Design Within Reach is currently in the middle of an eBay auction that will raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation to fight breast cancer. The lot includes five pieces of iconic furniture design licensed by DWR, all rendered in pink. Designs include the Emeco Heritage Rocker, the Knoll Tulip Stool, Fritz Hansen’s Swan Chair (pictured), the Eames Aluminum Management Chair, and Marcel Breuer’s Knoll Wassily Chair.

Here’s a delightful animation about the late Ettore Sottsass and his Nine-0 chair for Emeco. Nine-0 was named after the age Ettore Sottsass passed away and its form is based on the redesign of Emeco’s classic Navy Chair.

Emeco, unveiled the “Nine-0”, a new collection of chairs and stools by the Italian designer Ettore Sottsass on 16 April, at the 2008 Salone Internazionale del Mobile.

I love how the arms on the armchair are formed by the extension of  the leg piece. A simple, elegant solution.

Three versions of the chair/stool are available. (From left to right) 3-Bar Back (shown without arms), Open Back, and Soft Back.

From the press release:

Gregg Buchbinder, Emeco’s Chariman, met Mr. Sotsass eight years ago at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. “The minute we met, Ettore told me he was an admirer of the Navy chair and in fact wished he had designed it. And we agreed, why not re-design it,” remembers Mr. Buchbinder. “I had seen Sottsass’ projects in which he had used our chair. Ettore was the first designer who took our chairs out of their typical environments—navy ships prisons, hospitals—and to use them in contemporary interior design projects. Through him Sir Terence Conran, Frank Gehry and Philippe Starck discovered the Emeco chair creating resurgence in the 1990’s.”

“A chair must be really important as an object, because my mother always told me to offer my chair to a lady,” Mr. Sottsass told the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in 1976.

Chris Redfern, the British architect who worked alongside Mr. Sottsass for the past 12 years recalls, “Ettore always had orange cushions fixed onto his navy chairs at home in Milan and our idea started there. We wanted to make the new chair soft, friendly and of course colorful.” Mixing Emeco’s expertise in aluminium construction with European technologies in polyurethane sculpting, the new designs feature a soft polyurethane seat and a wider base for a “growing population.”

A bit on Mr Sottsass:

Ettore Sottsass was born in 1917 in Innsbruck. Like his father, Mr. Sottsass studied architecture. He served in the Italian army, and after the war, established a practice in Turin, designing interiors, and domestic objects. He later moved to Milan as Italy embarked on post war reconstruction and collaborated with his father on social housing projects, as well as designing small craftsman-made domestic objects.

Mr. Sottsass spent a brief period in America, working for George Nelson, which gave his work a transatlantic dimension unusual in Italy.

In 1981, he helped establish the Memphis movement with a group of like minded designers who questioned the comfortable definitions of contemporary design. Memphis represented the most coherent attempt to apply post modernism to design. It created an alternative to the aesthetic of functionalism by exploring the emotional potential of design. 

At the same time that Memphis exploded, Mr. Sottsass’ partnership, Sottsass Associati expanded rapidly to become Italy’s best-known design consultancy, working in architecture, graphics, interiors, products, and furniture all around the world.

These are the last chairs designed by Mr. Sottsass, who died on December 31, 2007 at the age of 90.

“LA BELLEZZA CI SALVERRÀ.” (BEAUTY WILL SAVE US.)

ETTORE SOTTSASS

Seats: Integrally-coloured, soft polyurethane seat and back.

Colours available: green, blue, yellow, orange, red, and grey.

Gregg Buchbinder literally launched a Navy chair over the side of the HMAS Vampire in Sydney to illustrate its strength and durability during his recent visit. Greg gave a series of fascinating talks on a company that has been producing handcrafted products since 1944. For a fascinating glimpse into the manufacturing process of the Navy chair, check out the Emeco films.

Some people dream of owning Lamborghinis, or other such fancy things. Me, I’ve wanted chairs. Specifically, the all-aluminum Emeco 1006 chair.

Although it’s a bona fide design classic, the chair has achieved a somewhat anonymous ubiquity. By this, I mean that you’ve probably seen it a hundred times in your life without realizing that this was the chair. Try this: the next time you watch any movie about cops, or C.S.I, pay attention during the interrogation room scenes, and I’ll bet you’ll spot them there.

Part of their beauty lies in their indestructibility. The ten-oh-six “Navy” chair was designed by Wilton C. Dinges in 1944 for use on US Navy submarines and aircraft carriers. The task was to create a corrosion-resistant chair that was light and strong. Strong enough, legend has it, to survive a torpedo blast.

Not just taking their word for it, the folks at their ad agency, Weiden & Kennedy in London, put the chair to the test.

The chairs are made using a 77-step process, and the resulting chair is three times as strong as steel. Every one comes with a lifetime warranty, and you often find some of the original ones from the 50s being sold on eBay. They’re also 100% recyclable, although, you may have to wait for about 150 years before they wear out to do so.

Emeco makes other beautiful chairs, designed by luminaries such as Sir Norman Foster, Philippe Starck and Frank Gehry. But the Navy chair remains my favourite.

You can see the Navy chair and all the others at:

www.emeco.net

Oh, and they’re also available through Pomelo Home.