I have designed and made a chair. Not a copy or someone else's design; but all my own.
Any cabinet maker who reads this will know what I have been through.
For the last 10 years I have wanted to make my own chair. Ideas have come and gone, some good, some bad. I have notebooks full of designs. None had stood the test of time.
Usually I will draw something, then think for a while and if I still like it continue. This process also takes time, which any working father will know, is not plentiful. It was very important not to rush as I wanted it to be right. Time was needed for my brain to see if it worked or not. To see the good points as well as the bad. Often when I start to see the bad that is all I see. Convinced of my own incompetence I can happily abandon the project safe in the knowledge no one will see it.
It's a safe place, to have lots of ideas but with nothing tangible to be liked or disliked. No victory but also no failure.
This year I decided was the time to set deadlines. To really get things done. I decided spring would be my deadline to produce a chair. A design that worked. At the end of last year a had drawn something I liked and set aside time to make the first prototype:
The first prototype went well and I took it home to be tested. I love getting the opinion of my 2 sons Brychan (7) and Forest (5) and of course my wife, Vic. Also, I put it in the van to show anyone that I could. I think, the more opinions, the better.
Result: the seat was too short and the shape of it didn't work. The clean lines where lost. Everything was too heavy, visually and physically . I had been overly cautious with the thickness of the legs and seat and I needed to experiment with other types of wood. Next came #2:
Back to the drawing board for this one. I say drawing board but by this stage the drawing is done and the difference is in a few millimetres that can only really be felt and seen in real life. Now with thinner legs and seat, cleaner lines and a cheeky little bum print the design had really come together. The concept was the same but the result had a completely different feel.
When this model was shown to people the response was much more positive. What I like most when someone tries it is after they sit down. The chair is very comfortable. People are surprised. I am pleased because it means that the function of the object has taken first place. The aesthetics are important but for me, if they sacrifice the functionality or comfort of the object then the balance is lost.
So now I have a design I like and that is well received. The machines are set. I just need two more things. The right wood and a bit more time...
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