 | From the beginning, DWR has been a committed partner in promoting and supporting design in local communities. We sponsored a California College of the Arts furniture production class last year and in our Studios we regularly hold design competitions in disciplines as varied as pethouse architecture and snowboard illustration. And our annual MDF (Modern + Design + Function) event in Chicago is being used as a model for next year's national Studio design competitions.
Bradford Shellhammer, proprietor of DWR's West 14th Street Studio is a third-year graduate student in fashion at Parsons the New School for Design. He conceptualized and coproduced a design challenge with Parsons' Kenna Kay and her illustration class, "Beyond Editorial," and has enthusiastically agreed to share the process.
 Last year, during my second year of graduate school at Parsons, I mistakenly got off an elevator on the wrong floor and landed in the illustration department. Rather than jump back through the closing doors, I stood frozen, staring into display cases filled with illustrated skateboards from Kenna Kay's class, "Beyond Editorial." As clichéd as it sounds, right then, a lightbulb – a giant, colorful, illustrated one at that – went off above my head. I had an idea.
I marched into the office of Steven Guarnaccia, the illustration chair at Parsons and the author of the modern cult classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears: A Tale Moderne. Skateboards are great but these students needed to paint chairs. Chairs, I thought, would be the perfect canvas. He agreed.
 Taking inspiration from Kidrobot, whose bare vinyl toy figures are covered in commissioned artwork, we set out to challenge Kay's students. Their assignment: to re-imagine the chair. We purposely left the instructions vague, so as not to limit the students' ideas. We placed no restrictions on materials (we encouraged mixed media) or concepts (we challenged them to think about the usefulness of the chair, the human form, social conventions, style and culture).
 But what chair? Whatever we chose had to be lightweight (so the students could transport them), affordable (we needed 15-20) and iconic in silhouette and design. We decided on the Bellini Chair, designed by Mario Bellini and manufactured by Heller. It met all of our requirements – and it's comfortable to boot.
Alan Heller, the man behind Heller, is talkative, inventive and smart. He's also a New School graduate, which makes perfect sense. Parsons has been part of the New School since the '70s. There is something remarkable about New School grads and students. They all share a deep appreciation for culture, art and design. These students could be the next Jasper Johns, Proenza Schouler or Barbara Kruger – yes, all former Parsons students.
 Alan graciously donated Bellini chairs to the students. We launched the project in Heller's space on Fifth Avenue – an impressive place with lots of light, glass and fantastic plastics. The students filled the office building's elevator, chairs in hand, and marched south toward Greenwich Village. That was a funny sight.
The class took some time to warm up to the chairs. Skateboards are instantly recognizable by undergrads, but most had yet to even purchase a new chair. Kay, who works by day as a creative director for TV Land, instructed them to research the history of the chair and follow up with a design statement. Steps were mapped out: Move from statement to sketch to model to final design. During each stage we met for a classroom critique. We talked openly and honestly about each idea and encouraged students to refine and better articulate their designs.
 The first round of sketches included such diverse ideas as covering the chair in cushions and peacock feathers or attaching a bent spine to the chair to illustrate the negative impact a seated position can have on the human back. Some ideas were political and thought provoking, others were purely decorative. Some students had impressive concepts from day one, while others grew stronger and stronger with each passing week. Some ideas stuck (the chair with the spine) and some fell by the wayside (sayonara, peacock feathers), but all have remained truly original. The designs are as diverse as the students who created them.
The collaboration was an opportunity for the students to work in a multidisciplinary environment and with design industry professionals. The assignment pushed them beyond their illustration comfort zone and into the worlds of furniture and product design, and even conceptual art. Though they are illustration students, it's naive to think that they'll work in only that genre. Look at Charles and Ray Eames. They designed textiles, chairs, products, films and games, among other things.
The project has been a natural progression of DWR's core values and history: community, collaboration and the fostering and promotion of good design and good ideas. And we've had a blast being part of it. We're hosting a reception and exhibit for the "Beyond Editorial" re-imagined chairs on December 12 at the West 14th Street Studio in New York. We'll be exhibiting the chairs through January 20th. If you're in New York during that time, come on by and check them out. We'd love to hear your take.
Bradford Shane Shellhammer | |  |  | The DWR Classic Holiday
Through December 15, enjoy Free Standard Shipping on Cassina, Knoll®, Herman Miller® and Fritz Hansen.
Learn more > | | |  | Single-Speed Commuting
Ideally suited to the urban commuter, the single-speed Strida Folding Bike is valued for its performance and portability.
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for Living > | | |  | It's Almost Time for Champagne
We are continuing our holiday tradition and will soon be announcing the details of our fifth annual Champagne Chair Contest.
Learn more > | | |  | DWR at Design Miami 2007
DWR is excited to furnish Design Miami's first-ever pop-up tattoo parlor, "As Long as it Lasts." Organized by Tobias Wong, Josee Lapage and Aric Chen, the three-day exhibit will give visitors the opportunity to choose from several (permanent) tattoos designed by notable artists and designers.
Learn more > | | |  | Studio Events:
kitHAUS in the Neighborhood
12.6.07
Location: Pasadena
Leave your preconceived prefab notions at the door and come witness the future of modular construction with eco-friendly kitHAUS.
The Future of Green Design
12.14.07
Location: Boulder
Join us for the second year of thoughtful and pragmatic ecodesigns from the students of the University of Colorado College of Architecture and Planning.
See all DWR Studio Events > | | | |
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