Guilty Posting (again!)

The other day I started thinking that if I can't look after my blog what sort of mother will I be?

Don't panic I'm not with child but when I started these musings on all things seated-related, it was as if this blog was a new baby which needed nurturing and constant attention - these days I'm like one of those mother's who's kid is the last one at the school gates.

I do have a good reason for being so slack of late; I have a new job. Yes, that's right folks after 12 months of being in freelance wilderness, not knowing if I would be able to to afford to eat let alone buy the latest Established & Sons chair, I am in full time employment again.

I've rejoined the rat-race, become a commuter, chose to get out of my PJs before 12noon and I'm loving it.

Likewise, I'm rather smitten with these chairs from Very Good & Proper.

Called Canteen Utility, they are my new favourite pieces and I just adore them. I love their rawness and homage to old school chairs which has been effortlessly reinvented with the bright colours.

I promised myself something this time last year; that when I was in full-time employment I would treat myself to a new chair, a sort of "well done me" present to, erm, myself and you know what? I think it might just be one of these...

Mid Century Modern

I thought I'd died and gone to furniture heaven this afternoon.

A short hop on the bus to East Dulwich, saw me paying my first visit to Mid Century Modern, the furniture show that has been delighting mid century nuts like me for seven years.

I was told by the show's owner that this was the busiest it had ever been with people from Holland and further afield as well as the locals all clambering to get their mits on a Wegner or vintage Eames rocker.

After a quick visit to the lovely Keith from Mini Moderns (who very kindly gave me a Sitting Comfortably? cushion which I adore already) I ventured into the main hall.

And wow, it's lucky my latest cheque hadn't cleared because I probably would have blown the rent on a chair or three.

Seeing all this beautifully crafted furniture got me thinking how awful it is people can get away with designing crap stuff (you know who you are!) every time I turned a corner, there was a new Scandinavian delight to get my heart racing a little faster.

One of my favourite stands was Orange & Brown, a company specialising in stunning furniture and based in Bristol, I for one am glad they made the slog up the M4.

There were too many gorgeous items on their stand to mention but once I got home I had a quick look at their website and found these two beauties.

This delight is a Falcon swivel chair by Sigurd Ressell and was designed for Vatner. There's not much else to say about it other than I utterly adore it. I love the shape, I love the chrome, I adore that it swivels and would probably sell my Nan to get my hands on one (sorry Nan!)
And my second choice from this treasure trove of beautifully made furniture is this side chair by Finn Juhl, not least because it reminds me of my own lovely dining chairs.

I skipped out of Mid Century Modern one happy lady, clutching my cushion and trying to figure out how to save enough money to buy the lot next year...

Baby Boom

It honestly feels as if everyone I know at the moment (females obviously!) is either pregnant or has just had a baby.

I've now even become a little blase when I get the "I've got something to tell you" phone call - I'm excited for them all of course; even if it does make me feel old that all my drinking buddies are all of sudden with child.

So it's no surprise that a press release about vintage furniture for children stuck around longer in my inbox than it would have a year ago.

These two beauties are from a fab website called Molly-Meg, which stocks an array of vintage seating and accessories for the little ones in your life.

I love this 60s bucket chair which is every inch as stylish as its grown up counterpart and equally gorgeous is this retro-print, booster chair from California.
So, I'm thinking that for the next arrival (two of which are due imminently) they'll perhaps be getting a vintage chair instead of the ubiquitous baby-grow.

I Rest My Case

I try not to have favourite, favourite designers - it always seems a bit unfair to me, like having a favourite pet or worse , child.

However, I'm totally in love with everything Case do - from their beautiful, 50s inspired bed to this little beauty.

The Bridge armchair is designed by Matthew Hilton, one of the designers who produce the stunning collection on offer at Case.

Some people would find this chair a little bland, not that exciting, non-descript some might say, but not me.

I've decided over the course of writing this blog (it's been a year by the way) that I adore simplicity. It's why my flat is painted in various shades of white, why my furniture is sleek and has clean lines.

Some people also might say that simple is boring, it's not - as this chair proves it's classic, it's stylish and in a strange way, it's comforting.

I really, really want some of these chairs to replace my slightly knackered dining set - so in the absence of an endless pot of money or super rich parents, I'll be playing EuroMillions on Friday - well you never know, it could be me...

Something Old, Something New

Some very dear friends of mine got married last week, which got me thinking that when I eventually tie the knot, I bet I'll be as concerned about the chairs used at the reception as much as the dress.

As I've said before, seating is extremely important to me - clearly otherwise I wouldn't be blogging about it and I love nothing more than a chair with a bit of history.

So after working my tiny little fingers to the bone today (sending a record number of emails) I thought I'd treat myself to some virtual shopping over at Retrouvius. It's a favourite of mine and not just because of their wonderful name but because they source some of the best retro furniture around.

These gorgeous bentwood chairs (am still yet to see this wonderful technique in action - hint, hint) are listed as being from the former Czechoslovakia and possibly Thonet.

I love their Modernist shape but what I really love is day dreaming about where they previously lived, who owned them, did their owners love them and how did they end up of the retro scrapheap before being lovingly rescued.

LDF: Part One

As I'm sure most design addicts are, I've been dedicating my Monday nights to Design For Life. It's the Philippe Starck-meets-Big Brother show that's setting out to find Britain's young design talent.

So far, I've been totally disappointed. Yes, I get to watch one of the grand masters of design share his thoughts, wit (who'd have thought he'd be so sweet?!) and experience but the "contestants" are dull, dull, dull.

Perhaps they're trying too hard to please but they range from being totally abstract (tra, Nebil - you dug your own grave last week) to the totally bloody obvious (the redhead one who's name totally escapes me because she is possibly one of the most boring people in the world) so I was starting to agree with Monsieur Starck's opinion that British design hadn't seen anything interesting since the launch of Habitat.

Well, all I can say, is that I hope he popped along to LDF last week, because I for one, was blown away by the abundance of talent on offer.

100% Design seemed to have ditched its desire to be a challenger for The Ideal Home Show and has gone back to its roots. Instead of endless salesmen trying to flog me bathrooms I neither wanted or could afford, I got to chat to designers about their designs.

I got to touch, I got to admire and stand in sheer awe at how in what must be one of the most challenging times for new and emerging designers (have I mentioned how much I despise this recession?!) they're upbeat and confident about their work.

Of course, there were lots of beautiful chairs on offer. In fact, I think the friends I walked around 100% Design with were bored to tears with me as I repeatedly sighed "I want, I want" by the end of the day, I'd become practically parrot-like.

And, boy did I want this beautiful Katakana chair from Dare Studio. It is absolutely a "me" chair. I love the elegant back and angular shape.

I'm on the lookout for a desk chair at the moment (a desk to go with it would be a good start I suppose) and this one is top of the list.

The LDF Marathon

Wow, brilliant week all in all. I've been pounding the London streets in the name of design and have met, spoken to and seen so many exciting designers during London Design Festival that the blog posts are going to be coming thick and fast.

Just need to digest everything I've seen and heard so definitely come back soon and...

Watch this space...

The Week Ahead

Wow, the week ahead is certainly going to be a busy one.

LDF is in full swing and the invitations for launches all over the capital not to mention a thousand requests to visit stands at 100% Design and TENT have been coming thick and fast.

I've been resting this week in preparation for one of my favourite past times: finding new designers.

During last year's LDF, I was on press week which meant I raced around Earl's Court like a total lunatic. With thoughts of mounting proofs in the back of my mind, I literally snatched press releases while throwing business cards at stands.

I didn't even make it to TENT and totally uncharacteristically left a Conran party early and didn't venture anywhere near Tom Dixon's launch do.

Oh, how different this year will be. I'm not on press, the deadlines have been met and backlog cleared and I'm free to enjoy.

The prospect of finding new chairs excites me beyond belief. Some people love shoes but as you know by now it's chairs that float my boat.

However, what's totally essential with all this running about and remembering who designs what and who you've promised to feature on your blog, is a comfy chair.

It's got to be stylish too of course, and this baby comes from one of my favourite design companies ever, Pinch.

Unfortunately, it's not in my living room (neither and also unfortunately is one of their gorgeous armoires - take a look at the website and you'll know what I mean)

It is of course on my wish list, yes that ever-growing list of beautifully crafted furniture which I fear will only be longer by this time next week...

Catwalk Inspired

I wasn't going to blog today because I always think blogging with a hangover is a very bad idea.

You're leaving yourself wide open to spelling mistakes, getting designers' names wrong, uploading the wrong images etc etc.

But then, I logged onto Graham & Green for a little virtual shop to soothe my pounding head, high-heels damaged feet and slightly wobbly gait and found this new wonderful chair so I knew my rule about too many the night before and blogging had to go out the window.

I've talked before about how the fashion houses of Paris, Milan and London and even the high street massively influence interiors and this chair is a prime example.

I challenge you to find a shop without a studded bag, top or shoe at the moment, they're all the rage as are fashion editorial pages full of how to get the look complete with stud-inspired headlines.

So, hats off to Graham & Green for coming up with this studded, linen chair. I adore the classic shape and colour (olive green is one of favourites when it comes to interiors) and of course the studs. Not just because they're bang on trend but because they look rather cool.

Now, if you don't mind I'm off to curse those last few vodka and cokes and have an early night...

Italian Throne

Being half-Italian, I'm probably a little bit biased when it comes to Italian furniture and designers.

So, when I was browsing fabulous interiors store TwentyTwentyOne for wardrobes, it's no surprise I became a bit distracted by the chairs.

That's when I found this gem.

More a work of art than something to sit on, Pole Position (strange name I feel - but hey ho, each to their own) is designed by Luigi Caccia Dominioni (wish my name sounded as deliciously Italian) for L'abbate

So, what do I love about this chair? Well, obviously I love the buttoned back, given my slight obsession with buttoned-backs but I also love the shape, the style, its definite regal feel.

I also love the colours its available in, too many interiors products are drab and dreary but not this.

It's been a while since I added something to my wish list but this is a definite addition - in fact, the purple one better be under my Christmas tree this year otherwise they'll be tears before the turkey...

Spotted: A Rather Cool Chair

My parents being the nurturing, caring and supportive peeps they are took me to Art in Action in Oxford at the weekend.

"There's some really cool chairs that would look good on your blog" they said and so off we set to be surrounded by creative people.

I've never been surrounded by so many creatives in my life, and despite my rather inappropriate choice of footwear (flip flops and the grounds of a house subjected to a torrential downpour the night before do not mix) it was a brilliant day.

Ceramics creators, textiles geniuses, jewellery designers, artists, sculptors were all displaying their wares. I have to say it made me feel rather humble. Let's just say, art has never been my strong subject - my creativity has always displayed itself in the form of words and definitely not painting or drawing.

As much as I loved walking around all the tents, it was the woodwork one that drew my attention as that's where I knew the chairs would be.

So, after trying not to fall over in the mud for the 50th time that day, I entered the tent and was not disappointed.

I rather resembled a tourist wandering around London as I snapped pics of some of the coolest chairs I'd ever seen.

Those pictures of course remain on my camera, not yet downloaded (oh give me a break, I've been busy working) but while they still wait, here's a sneak preview.

This is the Lobi Loi chair by Chair Creative. I love the raw, almost unfinished quality - which I'm told by someone in the know is a very hot trend for AW09, presumably to make us all feel really guilty for our desire for bling and glitz.

I urge you to check out Chair Creative's other designs, because you definitely won't see these on the high street.

By the way, my Dad printed the first ever Art in Action catalogue over, erm, lots of years ago. You could say print's in the blood...

Guilty Posting

Do you know, I can't even bear to look at the last post I wrote because it was agggeeesss ago, which is not good.

After all, there's no one else to write this blog for me - no editorial staff of 10 (one day, one day...) to look after it for me - there's just me, myself and I and I feel terribly guilty about not having updated it since the middle of May...

...there, I've said it and it feels a bit like going to an AA meeting (by the way I do NOT know what happens at AA meetings) so "My name is Alexandra Toso and I haven't blogged for a long time" now on with the post...

Chairs haven't gone away of course since I last wrote, in fact I've discovered even more beautiful ones in my hiatus and this one comes from the discovery of a furniture design company new to me.

Benchmark (available at Furnish) is fast becoming a favourite of mine.

Simply because they make really stunning furniture, when frankly we live in a world where people think they can turn out any old tatt.

The Alvis chair has pretty cool design credentials given it came from the mind of the godfather of design Sir Terence Conran but that aside looks stunning too.

I love the clean lines, simple shape and above all I love the fact it can be upholstered in your own fabric. I think it would look pretty cool in velvet or perhaps a retro pattern.

I promise there won't be such a long space between postings not now I've got my mojo back...

Lovely Leather

My poor chair blog has been somewhat neglected of late, which I of course feel extremely guilty about. There are fairly good reasons though; I've been doing lots of freelance work and working on two really exciting websites - one is greenmystyle.com (check it out for great, stylish eco buys) the other one is a bit of a secret but watch this space...

This week has actually been chair-filled in one way or another. Waiting to meet someone at the amazingly impressive One Canada Square, I sat on a Barcelona chair in reception, I've decided that I still want one and while on our way to a press show, my friend Roh and I walked past the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden which is being refurbished and discovered the developers were giving away the beautiful, Victorian seats from the circle. 

But anyway, chair of the week has to go to this rather beautiful specimen from Poltrona Frau (in fact I could happily live with any the chairs from Poltrona Frau) which is called Archibald (how do chairs end up with their names I wonder?) and is by Jean-Marie Massaud. 

I adore its delicate folds of leather, its simple design and  the colour, it would go perfectly in my new dining room. 

Genius Idea

It's been a while since my last post. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was more than a little disappointed not to make it onto Caroline Taylor's blogroll  but hey, ho onwards and upwards. 

Thing is there are a lot more chair blogs out there than I ever thought there would be and don't even get me started on chair books. There are loads but there's still room for mine so if anyone's reading and fancies giving me a huge advance to travel round furniture shops taking snaps let me know. 

Anyway, I digress so on with this post. I've mentioned before how exciting it is to come across new chairs. Yeah sure, there's the classic thing, the cutting-edge, high end designer thing and as we know about my love of vintage furniture, the retro thing but it's always great to find out about someone coming up with a new idea. 

Which brings me on to this chair which is designed by Robyn Notley found via Glimpse Online (a great new design website) 

The idea, as all the best ones seem to be (and yes I am talking about my idea to start a smoothie and juice bar before they were popular) is simple yet deliciously wonderful. 

Robyn has transformed the humble Lanni chair from Ikea into something that every bespoke-aficionado would be proud to own. 

By making "add-ons"  such as spindled legs, backs and seats from acrylic, Robyn's idea turns a everyone's-got-one chair into the equivalent of a Dior couture dress. 

Ok, so that's not the fairest comparison in the world perhaps, but Robyn's concept does make something pretty ordinary look rather interesting. 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, as with all new (good) design should be applauded. Big round of applause for Miss Notley then!

I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside...

...but unfortunately for me, I'm in Streatham!

Well, you can't have it all and at least this week's meant to be sunny, sunny, sunny.

My better half (lots of people to testify this is definitely the truth) has spent the last few weekends sorting out our small, but perfectly formed garden.

Looks like I'll get lots of opportunity to sit in it, which means I'm on the hunt for some fantastic garden furniture. 

Top of the list is a gorgeous deckchair and this stripy treat from Southsea Deckchairs is the perfect choice. 

I love the colourful stripes and think it would be perfect for sitting and plotting my future (with a large G&T of course) 

Poached, Fried, Boiled, Scrambled or Chocolate...

...none of those for me thank you.

I'd much rather be unwrapping a delicious new chair than a foil-covered chocolate treat.

It being Easter and all I thought I would share one of the most iconic chairs ever designed in the history of interiors. 

This is the Egg chair* (get the Easter connection now?) by Arne Jacobson, one of godfathers of modern design. 

I love this chair because it has a certain feel of power to it. The high back, comfortable seat, free flowing swivel (brilliant for those Dr Evil or James Bond baddie moments) 

But above all, I love it because its name, while being a little abstract, it so appropriate - sitting in this chair makes you feel coccooned and safe - a little like being inside an egg would I suppose. 

*This chair is from Go Modern 

Library Chair

I clearly love chairs (and rugs and cushions) but I also love books. 

Fiction, non-fiction, biographies, crap novels, brilliant novels - I love them all. I love the way they feel, I love the way they smell, I love the way they look.

Books have had such a profound effect on me that I can still remember the first line of my favourite book when I was 15, I regularly dream about books I've read and my Facebook and Twitter password is the name of the protagonist of one of my favourite childhood books. 

In fact, books have such an effect on me that I once sat on a bus with tears running down my face reading one of the saddest books ever. 

So, imagine my absolute delight and urge to rush out and buy when I saw this chair. 

It's called the Bibliochaise (geddit) and is designed and manufactered by Italian company  Nobody & Co. 

Its ingenious designs features storage space for a wide number of books and I love it. How bloody clever - a chair that keeps your books in check. 

Snooker Loopy

I've certainly never made a secret of the fact I love retro and reclaimed chairs. 

The Internet is full of beautiful treasures and if I had the money, well let's just say, food, heating and water would be low down on the list of necessities... 

This chair is simply divine and is covered from none other than the cloth that is traditionally used for snooker tables. 

It comes from the ever-expanding stock at Retrouvius, where you'll find beautiful and carefully sourced furniture nestling among clocks, mirrors and lighting. 

Danish Pastry or Danish Chair...

Tough call, right? But I know what one gets my vote and it's not a flaky, sweet treat. 

I've blogged before about loving Danish furniture. Let's just say it's an obsession of mine. 

In fact, it's probably a good thing I don't live in Denmark because I have a sneaky suspicion I would have snaffled up all the good stuff and not left much behind. 

Which would be a shame because then people wouldn't be able to find little treasures like this. 

This particular specimen comes courtesy of Fragile Design, a Birmingham-based vintage furniture shop. 

And as well as some beautiful 20th century furniture, they also have great range of vintage fabrics, glassware and ceramics. 

So, yet again, it's breakfast 0 - bloody lovely furniture 1 - well, I can always have a croissant...

Big Boned

Graham & Green is fast becoming one of my favourite destinations for on line, virtual chair shopping. 

Comfortable, beautifully designed pieces mingle with 20th century classics from Kartell. 

My latest discovery from their extensive catalogue is this Rams Head chair which is made from inlaying bone into wood. 

It makes for a very pretty occasional chair which would be perfect for a bedroom or hallway.