My visit to INDARCARMET s.r.l!!

Hi everybody!

Today I had a beautiful experience visiting this company placed in Lacchiarella, near Milan.

INDARCARMET s.r.l  was born 46 years ago, it is specialized in the production of chairs and armchairs,i would define the company as a family business, since the whole Campione’s family works in it…

All the models are realized in compliance with the most recent European regulations, and allow to reach the best possible posture…

All the production’s phases are done in the same building, the one I have visited today..this make it possible to apply all the necessary changes that are required in order to sattisfy the clients’ needs…

Well…let’s start our little tour now!

As first as I arrived, I met Matteo C., the owner of the company.

He  explained me that their business moves towards to two different areas: on one hand they deal with the bending of other big companies’chairs, on the other, they produce their own chairs.

I am going to explaing first the first business area’s production, the one in which they deal with other companies’ needs.For example, they repair chairs for Domus, for Carrefur, or even for Armani..

It is here really important to notice that in this cases, the final clients are NOT interested in having well-designed chairs, the only thing they care about is the cost.

Carrefur doesn’t mind if the chair is beautiful, it just requires that it has to be cheap, a little comfortable, and that can be used in a small place, like the one its cashiers are working in.

This is how the whole process works:

First, Indarcarmet receives from its client the ruined chairs, that have to be fixed..I would rather say that they have to REBUILT again, since the only thing that will survive of the old chair is the bust and the main structure…

The old chairs are disassembled, and then they go through a dismantletion process , carried by Miss. Anna

What she basically does, is to take away everything from the chair, except of the original bust, that will be used for the next phase.

Here, a big piece of terry cloath is cut basing on the original bust shape…it will be use as the filling part..

This is the vergin terry cloath

Here, they use their models to decide the height they need , basing on the bust’s one..

And then. they cut it

The next phase, requires the use of a specific tool, that is pretty hard to be find nowadays…Stefano is the responsable of this process,during which a huge pression is exerted on the terry cloath, in order to make it take the desired shape..

the terry cloath is then covered with the chosen material and colour..

Then Stefano cuts away the excess of cloath that doesn’t need to be used..

This phase is really important, because you should try to waste the less material you can…the less you cut, the better it is!

That it is the reason why precious materials like leather are sewed… to decrease the cutting part as much as it is possible..

Piece of sewed leather cloath

This is how the chair appears so far then..

Then we have the final processes, that are done by both Matteo and Stefano..

And, finally..the last phases…the ones that involved the assembling process…

all the pieces are put together…

AND….

here we have our new chair!!

We can now deal with the second business Indarcarm is involved with…the one that refers to the production of their own products..

These chairs are really well designed, Matteo showed me the production of two different models: a leather armchair, and an industrial chair.

The leather armchair is a really confortable and beautiful product..

as first thing , Matteo showed me the pure material, the vergin leather..

The leather is then cut and sewed…

And some other materials are added…for specific reasons I will soon explaine…

In fact, those white wires and those red pieces will be used to regulate the filling thickness, basing on what the clients wants…

the thicker he desires, more will the wires be tightened to the supporting body..

Then the leather is filled…and here, after some finishing processes, the final result!

And now…let’s see the production of what is defined as an industrial chair..

Here you are all the pictures of the process!

Here the wooden base

Here the assembling process..

And here some of the final products made by the company Indarcarmet..

This is the new product that does not still have a name !

I really like it…do you??

Well…our journeys ends here..

But before leaving you, I would like to thank Matteo and all the workers of Indarcarmet, fot the kindness and the heplfulness they showed me!

If you want to take a look, i will post here their website!

http://www.indarcarmet.it/

Stay tuned!!

Chair mending…THE INTERVIEW!

Hello everyone!

Have you ever notice those men sit on a chair in the sidewalk, trying to mend old wooden chairs?

Well, I have!

I will report here my interview with Renato M., a 60 years old craftsman, that has spent his last 32 years mending chairs using so many different tecniques.

I had an appoinment with him at his workplace : the intersection between via Marghera and via Ravizza in Milan.

How can you define your job?

Well…I would say I am a savior…people bring to me old broken chairs that could whether be trown away, or hoped to be saved by me!

I put my hearth in every single chair I am working on, my dad taught me that more patience and effort you put on anything, the more you get from it…and it is true!

Today it is pretty hard to get a spot under the light for people like me…technology, fashion, the always increasing demand of something new, is killing handicraft…

What do you exactly do?

I mend chairs, stuffing them in various ways…the one you are right now looking at is the simplest one…it is called the “Vienna’s thatch stuffing”.

It is the more requested tecnique by my clients…it seems to be the simpliest one…look at it…have you ever sit down on a chair wondering how much time  did it take to create that small part where you sit on?

Well…I will give you the answer…more or less 6 hours…yes because you have to be really careful because a small mistake can ruin the whole work..

Do you have a specific tecnique?

Of course I do! I’ve been doing this job for over than 30 years..you have to have a tecnique!

Mine is pretty strange…for example…sometimes I create 5 layers of thatch’s plots, today I will make 6, because every chair is different from the other..and this is what I have to be focused on..some chair need a stronger base, other a weaker one…The craftsman is the one that has to understand what is the best choice!

What materials and tools do you use?

No computers, no technologies! Just scissors, straw’s wires, and…my hands!

This is all I need, I am lucky because in my job, I have to count just on myself..no external factors…It is just me and the object i am creating…

Last but not least! Do you think chairs are design?

Of course I do!  Design is something that countinously change…and chairs are too…once I did not even have enough time to breath for how much work I had to do…today the situation is different…people are more demanding, and the design market offers so many new products…It is sad to say…but craftsmen are slowly disappearing..

But I love what I do, and I consider myself a designer too…as much as stuffing should be the same from chair to chair, I always try to put some creativity, some personal touch..and this is what keeps me still here today!

Chairs and Art

Do you know what is one of the best way to understand if a particular object is considered part of our culture, or at least has to be considered worthy of attention?

Well..the answer is…look what art reproduces!

How come so many different artist of different periods gave their attion and spent their time projecting, drawing, painting and realizing  beautiful pieces of art portraying chairs?

Because maybe, they understood their value, chairs  are seen no more as simple objects…but as part of our changing culture, of our “way of seeing”

Gauguin’s Armchair

Arles: December, 1888

Vincent’s Chair with His Pipe

Arles: December, 1888

 ”Chair”, by Richard Roselli

Workart by the contemporary realist Daniel Garringer

Playstation 2 and Chairs?!?!

Does this  have anything in common with chairs?

Mmm…I would say no…and I would be wrong!

In fact, Playstation 1, but mostly Playstation 2 are made up by a plastic material that is easily recyclable to create several new objects..

Even though Playstation 2 is one of the main products from Sony, some people already throw it away..and the English company Pli Design saw an opportunity in it!

Using the plastic taken from the console, it is possible to realize well-designed and modern chairs..their name is Reee Chair, and each one is made up by almost nine consoles.

In this way, it is possible to save 2,4 kg of plastic for each chair!! Not bad!!
During the next years, Pli is going to produce 3000 chairs, saving almost 7.5 tons of material! 

The Best Of…Salone del Mobile 2011

As everybody should know, Milan has hosted the 50th edition of Salone del Mobile, from the12th until the 17th of April..

Certainly chairs have been the main protagonists of this event, I have seen so many different models,all unique and rare..and it has been really hard to pick up the most impressive ones !

After the fair, all the magazines, tv programs, and other media of the furniture business, gave so much attention to several models…here you can have a taste!!

FLORIDA CHAIR, By Monica Forster

Here is a contemporary-based chair of a Swedish designer namely Florida Chair. 

Monica Forster has created a series of colored chair joy called ‘Florinda’ for manufacturer De Padova Italy.  Presented during this year’s Salone del Mobile, stackable design comes in a light-structured solid beech finish juxtaposed with colorful seat, back and arm optional seat .

NENDO SEKITEI CHAIR for Cappellini

The name “Sekitei” is taken from the Zen gardens that inspired this armchair: the lines of the seat resemble the winding curves drawn through sand or white gravel by Japanese rakes according to an age-old art. 

The foam cushion also recalls this pattern with designs in white thread against black fabric or black thread against white fabric. 

 The specialized finish of the steel and the waterproof fabric of the cushion also make the armchair suitable for outdoor use.

Z-CHAIR by Zaha Hadid, for Sawaya and Moroni

For Salone del Mobile 2011, the famous brand Sawaya & Moroni has presented the unique chair designed by Zaha Hadid. 

Made of polished steel, Z-chair seems to change itself basing on the prospective in which we look at it..and you have to believe me! I tried to move around the chair, and it looked different every time…I think this is one of the coolest aspect of this object…I mean…to almost look alive while being just a chair!

The chair looks really simple, but extremely elegant at the same time..honestly this was one of my favourite pieces…maybe it is not a case, that it is a limited edition with just 24 pieces!!

FuoriSalone 2011 

Hi everybody!

It has been a while since I have upgraded my blog, but I have been working so much for the SalonedelMobile and for the FuoriSalone in Tortona’s street!

Well, luckly I ended up working for Fritz Hansen, the famous danish company of design furniture.

Actually, I worked for HTC,a company famous for the production of the innovative smarthphones and tablets.This company created a stand for the event with the cooperation of Fritz Hansen, whose chair were exposed all around the place, and where the clients could sit on.

What really impressed me was that the people who came into the area were really attracted by the chairs, and some of them spent hours sit on them, saying how comfortable and beautiful they were!

This is what Daniele De Grandis,the Executive Director HTC Italy ,said:

“The will to try new techniques and the aim to be the first to propose solutions that are not just beautiful in their form, but also useful and oriented to the final consumer, are the features that join the Republic of Fritz Hansen to HTC”

Well, I was impressed by the Fritz Hansen’s chairs too!

This model is called “Egg”,maybe because of their curious shape?!

And here, other models that were exposed..

These chairs were put in the “green area”of the stand, were people could exploit technologies while enjoying the nature„,

Surfing on the web, I found really interesting this aspect of the danish company…if you want to have a look I will post the link! :)

http://www.fritzhansen.com/en/fritz-hansen/the-republic/Environment.aspx

…FASHION AND CHAIRS…

     Fashion and chair…two words that seem to have nothing to share…is it true?                                               

Chairs are nowadays designed basing on what is our culture today, and fashion is a big slice of it!                                                                                                                          Chairs are no more pure, simple, essential utility’s objects…they have became also a way to express our personality, doing it with the usage of different materials, shapes, colours and designs.

What about the recent “skeleton fashion”? We can find it everywhere! T-shirts, rings,scarfs, bags,shoes…and yes…even chairs!

Here the skull chair by Pool

To be shared is not just the main object, but also the similar colours and shapes…

what about the zebra torment?

And..last but not least…have you noticed the new obsession with everything that recalls the nature, the landscape, and the ecological theme?

DAISUKE MOTOGI architecture

                                       LOST IN SOFA

Seems pretty comfortable ah?

This is one of the most important creation by Daisuke Motogi,the young japanese designer.                                                                                                                              She focused her projects on soft, confortable chairs, the ideal support to relax on. This is the result…not bad  right?  

Japanese studio Daisuke Motogi Architecture presented this armchair for holding and hiding things at DesignTide Tokyo 2010

Items can be stored by wedging them into slots between the upholstered cubes that form the seat.

“Things often get lost under the sofa. It’s ordinary for a coin which slipped out of your pocket, or a never-to-be-found remote to be accidentally found in between/underneath the sofa cushions. Maybe you’ll find a forgotten 10,000yen bill that you once hid there…   ”    (Daisuke Motogi) 

                                                           SLEEPY CHAIR

It makes you feel sleepy even if you are not , doesn’t it?

 This creation is  made from a thin mattress folded into a concertina, and it is available in two different colors, black and white…

“A chair as a blanket which provides a space of warmth and happiness”

BILLIANI’s 100th anniversary

” Wood immediately entered in our hearths, and as soon as we were born, we already have had solid roots and deep believes.                                                                          This natural attachment immediately marked us.                                                             In the wood we have read, time after time, the trails of our past, to make them became thoughts, plans, and ideas.                                                                                               In one century, architecture, fashion, design,art, and lifestyle have all quickly changed, almost sweeping us away.                                                                                                 Billani has constantely enriched its offer, establishing virtuos relationship with designers, looking for the balance between knowledge and imagination.
With the desire of creating beautiful chairs, yes, those ones that make dreams be confortable.”

Billani will celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary at the “Salone del Mobile”, that will be in Milan from the 12th until the 17th of April. 

It will be a very important day for the historical chairs’ producer, Billani is one of the protagonist of the chairs’ industry , and all its product are made basing on a huge traditional and tecnologic know-how                                                                            For the occasion, Billiani will present some news for 2011, among them the chairs  Croissant and  Tracy and an extension of the Doll series, designed for the first time in 2010 by Emilio Nanni.

Luckly, I will be able to go to the fair of Salone del Mobile, so I’ll be able to deepen my knowledge!!

Stay tuned!

How to choose a chair..

Who said that design means uncomfortableness?

When you choose a design chair for your own business, you should consider a few things to smartly connect design to comfortableness.

The term “ergonomic” is often used in the description of chairs, couches, sofa..but what are the criteria that really have to be used in order to adequately choose the chair more suitable for your needs?

…So, where to begin?

Before buying a chair ,always ask yourself what you will be doing with it.

The different types of chairs lend themselves to be used for different purposes, that ‘s why is fundamental to define pre-emptively what the use is going to be.  

Some essential elements that the buyer should consider are:

• The chair back: it should support both your upper and lower part of his/her back. The ideal shape would be a bendind toward the bottom, in this way the back chair would exactly follow the spine’s  structure
• The arms of the chair 
• The seat: obviously it has to be comfortable and sufficiently padded, not too much though, cause it could be really hard to change position.
• The seat has also to be enough broad and deep , but not too much or you could not be able to rest your feet on the floor and, consequently, your spine to the back chair.
• The base: the only big important word is STABILITY!

STAY TUNED

A really really original production!!

Luckly I have just been in London, and beyond the parties, the pubs, and the entertainment, I also had time to visit some of the most famous museums in the whole world.

In the Victoria&Albert Museum, I found a really interesting work by the artist Marijn van der Poll, that perfectly suits my blog!!

I am talking about the “Do it” chair.

The first Do it was designed in 1999, and since 2000 it has been part of the Droog Design label.

This work is an  incredible piece of design, in which it is shown how designers are now creating novel objects that engage more playfully with the touch senses. Some explore unexpected materials. Some reinvent how we use objects and technologies in order to produce more satisfying encounters.