A 1960's armchair made by Icefurn reupholstered in Bute Turnberry tweed.
This chair was manufactured by Icefurn and designed by Th. Gudmundsson (see labels below attached to underside rail). The customer remembers this being something to do with a business venture between his father and an Icelandic colleague, probably in the 1960's. If anyone can shed any light on the origin of the chair, please get in touch.
The chair came to me in the worst state imaginable, my customer having found it in his dad's barn where it was being lived in by rats. Before I got my hands on it, it looked like this:
As it was so bad, I made one of my daft little films of the restoration project, here it is for your viewing delight.
This was a commission.
Nice work Mick! :D This chair was designed by my dad, Thorkell G. Gudmundsson, in 1961. Here is a little bio:
ReplyDeleteThorkell G. Gudmundson started his carreer as a furniture designer 1955 with a degree from The Technical college of Reykjavik in furniture carpentry. In 1957 Thorkell enrolled in the Danish Design School in Copenhagen, to study interior design, and finished his degree in 1960. In the following years, from 1960-1963, Thorkell took courses in sculpture at the Reykjavik Art School, under the guidance of renowned Icelandic sculptor, Asmundur Sveinsson. After working for the Reykjavik City Architect for seven years, he opened his own design studio in 1967.
Thorkell was very productive and designed a number of well known pieces. His best known designs, The Spira Futon was in production for 20 years solid and the production of the Stuðla Partitions was ongoing for 17 years. These designs can still be found in people’s homes today. Thorkell’s interest in Japanese design is well known and it´s influence is evident in his later design pieces.
Thorkell finished his degree in Education Studies from Iceland University of Education in 1986. He had a long and succesful career as a teacher in the Technical college of Hafnarfjörður. When he founded the Design programme at the Technical College, his main objective was to prepare his students as well as possible on their way to further studies in the field of design, at acknowledged design colleges, in Iceland as well as abroad.
I can get the story behind this perticular chair if you want?
ReplyDeleteHi Sigurdur, thanks for getting in touch - yes, I'd love to get more info on this chair. My customer said his father had something to do with importing these, any info on that? I'd like to write a full blog post on this/your father so any info greatly appreciated - please email me mick.sheridanatmail.com
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