Last week I was at The Bay flagship store on Queen Street in downtown Toronto with a friend who was looking for the perfect LBD (little black dress).  As we made our way up the escalators to the 3^rd floor, Ladies Fashions, I noticed that there was a hubbub of activity going on and the smell of perfume in the air.  We soon discovered that the commotion was that the man himself, Oscar De La Renta was in the store to celebrate the launch of his new fragrance ‘Live in Love’.  Sitting on a small stage in The Room (women’s couture apparel), Oscar was interviewed by none other than Jeanne Beker of Fashion Television.  There was a lot of excitement in the crowd as the legendary designer spoke about life and being in love with yourself.  Great words of wisdom but I soon broke away from the crowd of onlookers as Jeanne and Oscar continued on.  With everyone attending the presentation, the rest of the 3^rd floor was mine to discover.  And what did I discover??  Outside the change rooms for ‘waiting’ friends (or husbands) to sit on was a Ball Chair.  Designed in 1966 by Eero Aarnio, the Ball Chair or the Globe Chair as it is sometimes called was an idea that Aarnio came up with when he moved into his first home and needed a proper big chair that was very unique in design.  “After some drawing I noticed that the shape of the chair had become so simple that it was merely a ball. I pinned the full-scale drawing on the wall and sat in the chair to see how my head would move when sitting inside it. Being the taller one of us I sat in the chair and my wife drew the course of my head on the wall. This is how I determined the height of the chair. Since I aimed at a ball shape, the other lines were easy to draw, just remembering that the chair would have to fit through a doorway”.  Interesting….out of necessity comes invention.  And a groovy looking one too!

                Image 1 via Modmissy    Image 2 via eero-aarnio.com

This past weekend I was invited to dinner where a large group of us gathered around the dining table.  Of course it is always fun to share stories, laughter and lots of great food.  The challenge always being whether there are enough seats to accommodate everyone.  Enter the folding chair.  The trusty folding chair that can always be found tucked in the back of someone’s closet.    

Back in the 1960’s and 70’s no house was complete without a card-table and folding chairs.  The first aluminum folding chair was created in 1947 by Fredric Arnold and by the late 1950’s the Fredric Arnold Company of Brooklyn, New York was manufacturing over 14,000 chairs per day.  Although folding chairs have been in use since ancient civilization in Egypt, Rome and Greece where they were used for ceremonial purposes and were considered a status symbol the metal version of today does not quite garner the same prestige.  The folding chair of today has always been rather ‘utilitarian’ and very lacking in style.  But recently I came across this ‘new and improved’ version that has an innovative design and updated appearance.  This folding chair is a piece of furniture that has style and visual impact, definitely not a piece that would be relegated to the back of the closet.  Imagine presenting this at your table with family and friends next time you have a gathering!? 

This weekend marks the annual holiday of Thanksgiving Day in Canada.  Celebrated on the second Monday of October since 1957, Thanksgiving is a time for people to give thanks for a good harvest and also to be thankful for the good fortunes that have occurred in the past year.  Thanksgiving is often celebrated with family and friends sharing a large meal together with a roasted turkey being the traditional centerpiece.  Afterwards the turkey wishbone (bone overlying the breastbone) is saved, dried and then 2 people get a chance to break the bone and make a wish.  While on the topic of the wishbone I thought it an appropriate time to talk about the Wishbone Chair. Designed in 1950 by Hans Wegner, a Danish furniture designer, the Y-chair or the Wishbone Chair as it is often called due to the shape of the back resembling that of a wishbone is a classic piece of Danish mid-century furniture design.  Inspired by the Ming Dynasty chairs, Wegner designed the Wishbone chair with curved back legs and a semicircular top rail creating an ergonomically comfortable chair.  Since 1950, Carl Hansen & Sons have been manufacturing the Wishbone Chair that requires over 100 production steps to be done by hand creating a masterpiece of craftsmanship.  The hand-woven seat is made from over 100 meters of paper cord that is durable enough to last throughout many decades.  To those celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend, I wish you a happy holiday and may all your wishbones be a Wegner!

                                  Image via Gabriel Ross