The Matreshka Russian Nesting Doll Light Changing Chair.

Russian Nesting dolls continue to inspire design in everything from housewares to furniture. Way back in 2008, I wrote a post about Matryoshka Madness and the glut of items honoring the traditional Russian dolls. Then again, in 2009, I followed it up with another Matryoshka related post. As I was getting preparing to publish yet a third, I came across this.



The Matreshka Light Chair by brothers Georgi and Peter Slokoski is a patented innovative product that combines functionality, comfort and whimsy. Inspired by the form of the emblematic Russian doll Matreshka (also referred to as Matryoshka, Babushka or Russian Nesting Dolls), the chair, made of fiberglass, was just introduced this month and will be available for pre-order in May.





The soft curves of the female body come to life in the form of fiberglass in two main colors – white and black:



Not only is the chair a unique shape, but, it's a functional lamp, too. The built-in LED RGB lighting in its upper part can be remotely controlled (and it fades in and out) and allows thousands of color combinations, including white for reading. The base allows endless 360° rotation in both directions.



The chair invites and embraces you, it enhances and dominates your emotions. Touching the chair is a discovery – you subside into a harmony of immaculately chosen materials, skillfully amplified by comfort and functionality.

Beginning next month (May 2011), you can pre-order the chair here
all images and info courtesy of Slokoski.com

From Virtual 3D To Reality: Peter Donders New Aluminum Morphs Chair, The Shelly.

Belgium-based designer Peter Donders, who specializes in 3D Design, Modelling, Prototyping, Manufacturing & Visualisation, Furniture Design & Development has just released his newest chair in his Morphs collection. Using various software programs Peter designs his pieces on the computer in 3D and then fabricates them for the real world.


above: designer Peter Donders atop his carbon fiber stone, another piece in his Morphs collection

Shelly, is a beautiful single chair cast from one entire piece of aluminum and has an elegant fluidity with an interplay of organic curves that makes it stand out from other functional chairs.





Aluminium chair, cast in 1 piece in a 3D printed sand mould.

The chair consists of only 1 single surface (shell) with a minimum thickness of 8mm.

Weight +/- 12 kg

Dimensions:
H : 962 mm
W: 579mm
D: 667mm
Price on demand.
If you are interested in purchasing the Shelly, contact him here.

Peter Donders
Opitterkiezel 206
B-3960 Opitter Bree
Belgium
Tel/Fax : 0032 (0)89 864 888
Mobile : 0032 (0) 496 25 67 93

Wacky Wooden Spinning Chair For Kids And Grown-Ups By Jaanus Orgusaar.

Designed by Jaanus Orgusaar, the Spinning Chair Accelerator was inspired by the Cern accelerator [the world's largest particle accelerator].



Made of lacquered bended birch plywood with leather handles, the spinning chair is the opposite to the rocking chair. When the rocking chair calms and puts you at ease, the spinning-chair energizes and stimulates. The vibration from the spinning of the metal ball inside awakens your spirit and renews your cells.




After 6 spins, you end up where you started. It is a hilarious and playful ride for both kids and grown-ups.


Dimensions: 1400 x 1400 x 700 mm, 20kg
Materials: 4mm bended birch plywood, 2mm plywood, cable pipe, metal ball, leather handles
Finishing: matte lacquer

Price including VAT, shipping not included: 1.200,00 EUR at designspray or £ 1075.00 GBP here at Bouf

31 Customized Panton Chairs For Vitra In Honor Of The 50th Anniversary.

above: HKS International turned the chair on its side, transforming it into a glacier, complete with Polar Bear

The modern classic iconic Panton chair , shown below, designed by Verner Panton just celebrated it's 50th anniversary.



In honor of the anniversary Vitra UK launched a national Panton Chair Competition and asked architects and designers to reinterpret the modern chair. Some treated is as art, others made it interactive. The winning design was an entry from Jump Studios and the 2nd and 3rd place winners were Ben Adams and Maris Interiors, respectively. Entries ran the gamut and included everything from Post-It note covered to Swarovski crystal studded versions.

Here are all the entries.

Winner, Jump Studios:

2nd Place Winner, Ben Adams:

3Sphere and Aukett Fitzroy-Robinson:

Amalgam and Aram:

Day 2 Interiors:

Forme and Foster & Partners:

Gensler and Harmsen:

HLW Architects and HOK International:

3rd place winner, Maris Interiors:

Pascall & Watson and Inskip jenkins:

MCM Architecture:

Pret A Manger and Pringle Brandon:

Ridgestone and Schneider Designers:

Scott Brownrigg:

Sheppard Robson and Sketch Studios:

Staffan Tollgard:

The Lollipop Shoppe and Walker Martin:

Workspirit and Woods Bagot:

Yoo Design:

HKS International's entry is shown at the top of this post.

All 31 entries were auctioned on 1st July 2010 and the proceedings of about £10,000 were passed onto Shelter.

The judge’s panel included:
Charles Saatchi
TV presenter Kevin McCloud
Designer Terence Conran

all original photos (cropped for this post) by Nicole Bachmann © Vitra UK