Thomas Seear-Budd and James Ross of Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington architecture and interiors studio Seear-Budd Ross share Motueka’s Woodwrights furniture makers are experts in the art of designing furniture. They talked, they met and they decided to create a chair and table that embody timeless principles of proportion, functionality and elegance.
How did you two get on? James: Woodwrights’ enthusiasm for pursuing quality design meant the process was really enjoyable and collaborative. We visited the factory to see several prototypes, and we had them sent to our office for review and testing. That was cool, since we don’t have the luxury of making 1:1 prototypes when we design our buildings! The chair legs were made as thin as possible. For prototype 01, the thickness was 19mm, so they flexed almost to When I sat, the point started to break! This was just part of the whole process. — it allowed us to discover the properties and limitations of the material and adjust the design to suit.
