23 May The Economist: What a chair
The buzzwords in design these days are “economic” and “ecological”. Throw in “functional”, “biodegradable” and assembly lines that “reinforce values of integration and respect” and you have a recipe for an object destined to appeal to today’s guilt-ridden, penny-pinching yet acquisitive and aesthetically minded consumer.
The Economist · 18/05/2011
So it was with some eagerness that I clicked on the image attachment of an e-mail press release for the Bold cHair by Sanserif Creatius, a small design firm based in Valencia, Spain. Created entirely of biodegradable corrugated cardboard (without screws and wedges) in “special employment centres” where labourers surely whistle while they work, the chair sounded so promising.
But tell me, dear reader, what do you make of this? I’m all for a bit of insouciance with a greenwash, but would it go with the rug?