Presumably when Homer sat down to write the
Odyssey
He did it on a stone on which he spread a sheepskin to keep his buttocks warm.
And so it will have been throughout history, with many situations in which the white curls of sheep or the longer hairs of other critters served to give a certain warmth to inner life, whether it was a cave, a castle or a store. campaign.
But once we are talking about issues that have to do with contemporary design, it is now possible to change the record and focus on more recent times.
Specifically, in the middle of the 20th century, when a type of furniture emerged in the Nordic countries —especially in Denmark— that, due to those whims of human nature, caused a furor and returned after years.
They are small armchairs, light in weight, very compact in shape,
Its use became viral at that time —although at that time there were no social networks and the word viral had other meanings— and, however, that initial fondness has now returned with a bang.
In the middle of winter celebration, the moment could not be more appropriate to get hold of one of these semi-furry elements, which almost accompany you like a pet.
In his time there were those who took the subject to literalness.
Many will not be familiar with the work of French artists François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, who flooded the most elegant salons with their
moutons de laine.
They were seats made of bronze and wool, which literally reproduced a sheep as God intended and which ended up in the living room of people like Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé who did not miss one.
It was 1966. That's for those who think they're inventing something new.
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The Swiss house that is not known if it is old or avant-garde
A few years ago, the Californian Haas brothers, who are so popular in the world of designer design collectors, gave free rein to their twisted imagination to create surreal animal-like creatures, among which are numerous furry seats, some with legs and horns and an unfriendly image.
Last year it was the talented Mexican Fernando Laposse who presented an armchair with long hair.
In this case of long agave fibers that look like animal hair, one more step from their first small banks called Dogs, also in that long hair fiber that gives them the impression of domestic animals.
All of them are limited edition pieces found in the gallery environment.
Brasilia armchair from MENU.
However, this typology, expressed in a more practical way and without artistic desires, can be found in various stores dedicated to
mid-century vintage
furniture , especially Scandinavian, with many examples in which it is usually combined with a wooden structure, of a simple and natural way.
Sometimes metal details are added, a combination that provides contrast and refinement.
Among the most sought after is the Clam model
,
designed in the shape of an open clam by the Danish architect Philip Arctander in the 1940s and which exerted a great influence on his contemporaries, serving as inspiration for many seats of the time and later.
It is also a typology reproduced today by various companies dedicated to industrial design such as &tradition, Gubi, B&B Italia, Menu, Baxter... For example, &tradition now reproduces the Little Petra armchair designed by Viggo Boesen in 1937;
while Gubi has reissued the Pacha seat designed by Pierre Paulin in 1975;
B&B Italia has done it with Mario Bellini's Bambole from 1972, a time when they experimented with new materials and ways of structuring the guts of a seat, giving rise to those compact shapes perfect for white terry upholstery.
From left to right, and from top to bottom, Pacha armchair by Pierre Paulin for Gubi;
Nordkapp armchair by Paola Navone for Baxter;
Furry armchair by Fernando Laposse and the Le Bambole model.
With relatively small and soft dimensions, these seats are perfect for small spaces.
Undoubtedly, the softness and warmth are its main claim, in addition to the texture provided by the hair or the terry cloth, where appropriate, and the white color that underlines the curved lines of those designs not exclusive to the rural environment and that contribute a somewhat bohemian point to any interior.
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