I bought these 2 molded plywood chairs from a guy Zeeland, Michigan (home of Herman Miller Furniture). He didn't have any history on them. They have no manufacture or materials label on them. Does anyone know who made them or how old they are? Or are they just some IKEA junk?
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Hi Jaxon
It surprises me that there are no labels or indications at all. But this is definitely no junk. They seem to be well made, nicely finished and well thought out. The storage space created by the continuation of the backrest seems to indicate that it was made for schools, conference centres and the likes. To avoid piercing the surface a steel bracket has been made following the shape of the inside curve, and to laminate plywood in these shapes and in this quality, you have to have both long experience and proper equipment, so this is not the work of an amateur. I also suspect that this is more than a prototype. To high an investment and to much thought has been put into this chair to be just that. I am not very well documented on Herman Miller and the whole Zeeland, Michigan furniture scene but someone on the forum is and will tell you more.
The former owner might give be able to give you more details.
I wonder
if HM were in the habit (or had a program) to acquire and study examples of molded plywood furniture from various sources. That could explain the presence of these chairs in Zeeland. . .
As finished and perfected as these samples are, I suppose they might nevertheless be prototypes of an abandoned project ?
Thanks for the imput. I'm...
Thanks for the imput. I'm really glad you guys think they are well made. I'm not to that well versed in furniture design. I just buy what I like. I bought the chairs because I though they looked cool in my living room. To my untrained eye they looked to be made by a skilled craftsman. However not finding a manufactures mark, I began to think well maybe someone just threw them together in their garage. But soon relized molding plywood in your garage would probably be difficult and I too began to think they may have been a sample or prototype. At $75 buck for the pair I'm satisfied with my purchase, no matter who made them.
Mystery Solved
After spending the last 3 day searching for the maker of these chairs online I finally found them. Not Herman Miller. It's called the Grace Chair, Designed by Jim Cutler of Cutler Anderson Architects. Produced by Reveal Designs
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw11272005/notebook.html
Their always seems ....
...a way to find things on the WWW.
Although the combination creating the shelf is smart I have to disagree with the specifications that it is "comfortable" The combination of an almost horisontal seat and a back without lower back support is hardly comfortable.
http://www.reveal-designs.com/furniture/gracechair/grace_chair_sheet.pdf
Some additional...
..information.
The chair was originally (2004) designed for a church (church chairs are not paticularely known for comfort) It is an interesting variation on the H.V.Thaden patent of 1948. By turning the base 90 degrees Cutler has created an interesting additional space.
I would love to put the link to the H.V.Thaden patent but each time I put it in the web link box, my message disolves in cyberspace (and each version is shorter and shorter)
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