Mark Hewitt, Branch Chair (TABLES, CHAIRS & DESKS 2023)

Photos:

Mark Hewitt

This is the second iteration of this chair for me. The first was more of an experiment and used an actual branch from a tree. The right branch did take quite a while to find, so this time around I decided to make the branch shapes from scratch to get the exact shape I wanted. Nature not branchy enough for me. While the high back design is influenced by chairs from Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Alphonse Mattia's "Valet" chairs, there's also a big Japanese infuence in the overall design. From the asymmetry of the branches to temple architecture. The Danish Cord woven seat is a third element, that I feel, blends very well with the overall design. The chair dimensions are 180cm high x 60cm wide x 50cm deep, approximately. I wanted the timber to be as light in colour as possible and be an Australian species. I found sustainably grown Shinning Gum from Tasmania at a local supplier, Ceres Fair Wood. The chair is finished with 3 coats of polyurathane for a satin finish. You can view videos of how I contructed this chair on my instagram account @offcutswoodworks

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.