The first chair that Arne Jacobsen created was made of rattan. The Danish architect was a student in 1925 when he competed in the Paris Art Deco fair. He won a silver with The Paris Chair – his first furniture creation.
Danish company Sika Design is one of the oldest producers of rattan furniture and has relaunched this chair along with others by more great names in European design.
The company decided to expand its repertoire by seeking designs made by designers other than its own. Starting with that of Jacobsen, the list grew to include icons by Nanna Ditzel (who created The Hanging Egg chair in 1959 that many will be familiar with), R Wengler, Viggo Boesen and this year added the Ottoman, designed in 1951, by Franco Albini.
The result is the Icons range from Sika Design, readily available in New Zealand. All pieces are made of rattan. Kind on the environment, fast growing and able to be crafted by hand into beautiful designs, rattan is a unique natural material.
“Scandinavian countries have always had a preference for light wood,” says Louise Andreasen, marketing director of Sika Design. “This is one reason why these designers used this material. But they were mainly drawn to its unique qualities.
“There is no natural material in the world with the same qualities like rattan. It can be bent three-dimensionally and it grows very fast. When rattan is cut, it grows back in just five years. Neither glue nor heavy machinery are needed to produce rattan furniture, just very skilled workers.”
The descendants of the designers have been eager to make the reproductions exactly as the old original samples.
The Sika Design Icons range can be found at Domo, which has showrooms in Parnell and Newmarket in Auckland.
DOMO Auckland
domo.co.nz
106 St Georges Bay Road
Parnell, 09 921 5574
Words by: Catherine Steel
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