What do you see?

photos by Petra Bindel for Herman Miller | styling by Lotta Agaton

I know, I'm late to the party with this one. A few months ago my PINTEREST feed was awash with these images as was just about every blog I cared to visit. Interestingly - and this is more a reflection of the feeds I follow and the blogs I tend to read - these pictures made the headlines because of the styling, or rather the stylist, and not necessarily because of the chairs.

The interior stylist in question is LOTTA AGATON, and back in February I got wind she was heading over to Michigan to work with none other than HERMAN MILLER.  I couldn't wait to see the results. Why? Because I wouldn't have necessarily put these two names together.

Last year Lotta styled STRING for their stand at DESIGN JUNCTION. I went along for a gander, and standing there surrounded by Lotta's props made me feel like a child in a sweet shop.  There was so much to see. The shelves went up and up and each one was meticulously filled with complementing paper goods interspersed with desk lamps and odd, but always interesting, curios. The palatte was simple. White. With a bit of neutral thrown in for good measure.  It was fascinating.  Did I notice the String? No, not really.  But then I wasn't there for the STRING.

Lotta Agaton working for STRING, or STRING working with Lotta Agaton I get. The shelving system was after all designed by fellow Swede Nils Strinning.  And shelves are supposed to have stuff on them, that's what they're for.  So it makes sense I suppose to show the shelves off with, well, stuff on them.  But chairs?  I mean the most inticing of chairs is an empty chair.  An empty chair is an open invitation, it says what it needs to say, which is nothing more than 'sit here'.  But a HERMAN MILLER chair, an iconic chair, a design classic … no styling required, surely?

I'm happy to see the chairs have been left to speak for themselves. The 'new' fibreglass shells which HERMAN MILLER is once again able to produce thanks to new production methods look as good as the original designs by Eames from way back when.  And while these 'reissues' are a little too new for my vintage tastes, there's no denying that set against these calm yet equally atmospheric backdrops they certainly look the business.

As for the styling, it's as subtle as it is Scandinavian. I adore the use of plywood and the hints of a set design to the left or right of shot. And the moods created by the deep green and that melancholy grey. And the sprinkling of statement accessories such as the 265 wall lamp by FLOS, posters by PLAYTYPE and the BERGMAN LIGHTS as well as the interesting bits and bobs which may up the desk top displays.

So I admit it … I admit to being drawn in by the impeccably styled nature of these images.  But it's the furniture that holds my gaze.

it's all about me

Eames LAR, Circa Modern | Artwork, Conrad Jon Godly | Quote via Lotta Agaton | Interior for Elle Decoration - ph. Pia Ulin, stylist Lotta Agaton | Candle, Ontwerpduo

Now I've ditched CHAIRSMITH, I've ditched talking in the first person plural.  And I prefer it this way.  When I first started blogging it was all about the subject matter.  The person behind the words was an irrelevance, and therefore I chose to take a back seat.  Opting to write as if there was more than one person behind CHAIRSMITH also allowed me to be anonymous, to have no identity - and this is something I felt comfortable with at the time.  But a few years down the line things began to get tricky.  At times, I was unable to write the words I wanted to write because sentences become too burdensome to formulate using 'we' or 'us'.  I abandoned tweets I wanted to send or reply to as I'd be unable to make the language work.  But I counterbalanced this with the personal amusement gained from observations and comments other folk continually made about CHAIRSMITH.  Not once was I mistaken for a female.  On the contrary, I lost count of the times I'd receive comments which included the words 'he', him', 'chap/s', 'Mr' and 'guys'.

What? Don't chicks do mid-century modern? They do. I know. But perhaps modern chair design is more synonymous with the male of the species, whereas the fairer sex are typecast as preferring chinz and over-stuffed upholstery.  I don't know, but it's worth dwelling on for a moment.

Moment over.

Two things happened towards towards the end of my career at CHAIRSMITH (and please feel free to laugh at the 'career' reference) which culminated in my name - my actual, real name - being published alongside the name of my former blog.  This was weird.  It looked weird.  It felt weird.  But it turned out to be the moment I'd been waiting for - an opportunity to come clean about the real me.  And now I like being me, and having a name and communicating using words like 'I' and 'me'.  And I quite like having an about page, about me.

Hey, it's all about me!

the future is leaving

Give a girl a new blog, a blank canvas … and then what?  It would appear the freedom to post about anything and everything comes hand in hand with a minefield of decision-making on what exactly one should write about.  Errrr!  But I'm thinking once I get this first post out of the way, it will be plain sailing (fingers crossed).  

True to form, I haven't strayed too far off the beaten track.  Chairs.  This one is a current favourite.  An Ercol rocking chair, Windsor Quaker to be precise.  Picked up at auction after failing to meet its reserve, this sorry fellow was confined to the 'brown furniture' section at the auction house.  That section which, because of all the unfashionable (read ugly) brown, no-one fears to tread … except perhaps for the up-cycler.

The original dark brown stain (varnish, lacquer, call it what you will) on these chairs is fairly invincible, and I've seen one too many unsuccessful attempts at trying to remove it in order to get to the beautiful blonde wood beneath.  Stripping the chair down and all that goes with is a huge undertaking, and the results rarely look good.  So when considering how to transform this little rocker into something more eye-catching, I opted for what some might consider an easy life.  And no doubt there will be others who liken this kind of make-over to a criminal offence.  

Like. I. Care.  

Grey spray paint to the rescue, and I like it this way.  Plus I like spray paint … it's exciting.  Difficult to master, yes.  And being difficult to master means it makes you swear a lot.  But hey-ho, I also like swearing!  Post make-over this chair now gets sat on, rocked … you know, all the stuff a rocking chair should experience in life.  Stuff it wasn't experiencing, nor likely to experience, while hanging out at the auction house waiting for someone to come up with a winning bid.