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6.4.07

yay or nay

ok, i'm drawn like a magnet to the buttons and flap detail of this worker chair by hella jongerius for vitra, but sort of repelled by the rest of it. i love that the upper seat portion reminds me of a child's jumper but perhaps i'm being swayed by details. i wish it had thinner, more tapered legs. but what do you guys think- love it or hate it?

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39 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agreed. The chunkyness feels clumsy. But the buttons are cool.

Adam

9:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yay- I love the arms!!

Amy :-)

9:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Those front legs are just too heavy. They look like elephant feet. Parts are good,, but I think they missed the mark.

~ laurie

9:18 AM  
Blogger melissa said...

Meh - Looks like an easel with a laptop case and 2 thirds of a hassock. Disjointed.

9:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Seems almost intentionally awkward, which I hate. Agree on the buttons though.

9:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it's absolutely gorgeous. diaphanous furniture will always have its place, but what's wrong with embracing a bit of heft? her combinations of materials, the way she applies them, and her creativity with form are so incredibly unique that there's no way you can nay this stuff. think outside your comfort zone! let your inner devil's advocate win once in a while...

9:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It looks a little like a student project. No strong voice. It just looks very confused. Maybe it looks better in person??

9:33 AM  
Blogger G said...

Once I got around my initial reaction of "electric chair", parts of it began to grow on me.

9:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hate.
buttons look like they'd be uncomfortable.
it seems like they gave her a brief to make a chair from three objects...and like gumby's box bees came along and poof...

9:43 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Clunky and disjointed. Too many styles trying to come together here...
I like the back view though.

9:44 AM  
Blogger Chris said...

I think you have to consider the fact that it is named "The Worker" which goes a long way to explain the thick architectural lines and inornate styling. It reminds me of New Deal era public works...

9:47 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I say nay...but you could always make a pillow like this, possibly out of a child’s jumper to fit an existing chair. This chair does have great qualities, but I'm not a complete fan.

9:58 AM  
Blogger Susan Schwake said...

love the buttons, love the fact that it is truly a bit different, hits the mark with it's title. would i buy it? never. i think it stands alone as a sculptural piece, not for living with.
great find grace!

10:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Um, no. It feels like all of its parts don't go together. What's with the handle on the top of the back cushion? Is it a "to go" cushion? I think the whole thing has got to go:)

10:18 AM  
Blogger julie said...

Love, love , LOVE it! Smokin'! Go Hella go!

10:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great for a Frank Lloyd Wright or Pasadena Craftsman

10:33 AM  
Blogger jaime said...

Oh, I think it's great, the heftiness just makes it feel sturdy to me. And I agree with anon above, the combo of materials is wonderful. Some of the other Worker chairs use a variety of textiles, which gives the piece a lot of charm. Yay!

10:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

while i love+appreciate hella's work in general my immediate reaction to this was that it was bulky and heavy and rather ugly. but what do i know. i often have that reaction to things that i grow to love over time.

11:01 AM  
Blogger rem said...

Maybe in a different color..? Something's definitely not right with it in my eyes.

11:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good concept...but it needs one more design edit...play with the proportions a bit more..the back frame to me is a bit clunky..

11:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the backrest and the way the materials come together there. I think there is a lot of elegance. The seat on the other hand is too chunky for my taste. I would love to see the form follow through from the back with a smaller cushion for the seat and similar legs as the back legs. The combination of materials are wonderful.

11:14 AM  
Blogger @alyssa ettinger said...

i'm with g, looks like the electric chair. i think it's hideous.

11:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i usually love hella designs but ths one looks a little too sinister for me. it's really cool and i would appreciate it if i saw it at moss or something but i wouldn't want it in my house. unless someone was randomly handing out free ones...

11:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i agree with quiana - it comes close but misses the mark and could use some refining. i admire many elements of this unique piece, but the final product reminds me of an orthopedic shoe.

11:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

kinda hate. it just doesn't look comfy, and for me, the wood is the wrong color.

sj

12:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like this Frankenstein chair - it's hella (*Zoink*) cool.

But seriously, she's doing some great things, using two different styles and materials an a symbiotic way.

12:30 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

not a huge fan. but i do like the back cross-piece and the floating arms.

1:16 PM  
Blogger Steven Hoober said...

I actually like everything BUT the buttons and flappy thing.

The exposed structure on the back is great -- you'd have to stick it in the middle of a room so its visible. And the heavy front legs are lovely in the manner they:
1) reverse the more normal chair structure of heavy-at-back
2) emphasize the reversal of fabric-is-light and wood-is-heavy in concert with the cantilievered arms and flying rear structure.

Imperfect, but there's something going on there.

1:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It looks like a crate and an airplane seat had a love child. Thumbs down.

3:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

while jongerius' work is among my favorite, this piece for vitra appears too disjointed. I love the fabric and the weight of the, shall we call it, anterior of the chair, while the posterior has an arts and crafts meet FLW feel. I just wish it didn't look like a FLW chair with 1/3 of a vitra sofa perched on top of it.

9:50 PM  
Blogger Kris said...

I don't find it inviting... looks like it might start chasing me around the room! almost thought =)

1:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I see this kind of thing a lot, but from design students looking for a job. Looks like the overly ambitious portfolio work of someone I wouldn't hire. Too bad, cause if I were judging Hella Jongerius on this one piece... I would miss out on hiring a world-class designer. Can you imagine?

6:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It doesn't look balanced to me, but maybe that's because I'm a libra. :) Looks a bit unfinished, however, maybe that creates a nice contrast within the chair. I say I don't like it too much, but it could grow on me.

4:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

double meh....sometime a dog is just a dog, but hey I'm into Ron Arad!

Anthony

8:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

at over 3K it's definitely a love/hate piece

I love but not in the current color choices and not more than the polder...

5:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ugh. Kinda reminds me of an electric chair.

maybe it's my mood today, I don't know.

8:48 AM  
Blogger Blair said...

If I thought about sitting in this chair, I would walk around it first to see how it is constructed, because it looks like it would just fall apart, like it's a trick chair or something. Form should not be that far away from function.

12:40 AM  
Blogger Shona~ LALA dex press said...

nay-nay-nay

8:53 AM  
Blogger e & a said...

I like everything except the chunky front. it has a cool peasant-worker vibe.

11:18 AM  

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