Once Upon a Chair: Design Beyond the Icon

Once Upon a Chair is a detailed international survey of current trends and developments in furniture and interior design. Following in the footsteps of the highly successful Furnish book in 2007, it brings together a collection of work by the world’s best young designers, capturing the zeitgeist of this rigorous field.

Once Upon a Chair examines several key trends indicating a recognisable shift towards progressive design that makes a social impact – designers are collaborating with artisans to revive the tradition of craft, elevating it to new levels of luxury. A conscious effort to produce sustainable and ethical design is also evident where designers are not only working with environmentally friendly material and production methods but also creating furnishings that are made to be durable and retain their value over a long period of time.

The book further explores how designers are focusing more on process-driven and storytelling concepts to create furniture systems that are flexible, crafted in a collage-like manner or even decorative objects that serve as interior installations. A continuing flirtation with organic forms can also be seen with pioneering examples of material and technological experimentation, many of which are characterised by an unrestrained, playful attitude with an ironic exuberance.

This opulently illustrated and authoritative volume presents pioneering examples that expand our understanding of furniture and interior design to extend beyond the canon of forms and concepts seen over the last decade. The foreword and chapter introductions written by Andrej Kupetz, Managing Director of the German Design Council, and detailed profiles of the designers and their work, provides valuable insight into the current state of furniture design practice.