12th October 2022 // Snug Chair placed 2nd for the Textiles Award at the Young Furniture Markers Awards.
Snug Chair utilises the properties of felt in order to express the beauty of the aging process. By enhancing and evidencing the users wear, strong emotional connections will form between object and user.
The soft, enticing curves produce a cosy and embracing feel. The felt pads flatten and fuse together, evidencing user interaction. As it ages, Snug Chair flourishes into a unique, sentimental possession completely individual to its user.
Felt pads wear overtime to reveal the beauty of imperfection and aging.
Designed to be a companion for life.
In-context renders using Keyshot to portray the feeling and tone of Snug Chair.
Inspiration
Art of imperfection // accepting and embracing aging design
Sketch Development
Experimentation
The felt was experimented with to assess the success of the wear and aging with repetitive use. As well as experimenting with plywood lamination with the seat and back curvatures in mind.
Design Development
SolidWorks was used to develop different chair designs each with a different a language and style. It started with a single plywood moulded form but quickly moved onto two separate mouldings for the seat and back. The frame was deliberated after trying curvier legs or a more 'boxy' form.
Full Scale Testing
Preliminary seat and back testing with existing chair.
Ergonomics testing using wedges and bungies to try different angles.
Adapting a mock up with card and props to better the ergonomics and aesthetics.
Testing curved forms with an MDF frame - lounge chair angles (15 degree seat // 30 degree back).
Refining the curves and frame. A tapered frame with angled legs creating a more elegant form. The curve of the seat and back have been made shallower for better comfort and radiuses added for a softer, inviting feel.
Designing The Felt
To find the right shape for the pads, the waterjet cutter was used to cut out a selection of shapes in different sizes.
After focusing in on elongated shape, pattern combinations of the seat and back were printed and tested. The changing factors were size, angle and spacing, all based on comfort.
Making
More behind the scenes!
