Peter Crump | Chicago Chair

Chicago Chair

Chicago Chair

3 Prototypes Pictured
Handmade Editions of 10

Peter Crump-Chicago Chair

I conceived of the Chicago Chair at the Chicago Art Fair in 2002. While viewing art works at the fair, I noticed the wide variety of furniture that galleries used in their temporary offices. Some pieces were interesting and valuable, some were classic and well-designed, others were poorly designed and then there was everything in-between.

I began to think about making a chair that could easily break down for transport or storage. Based on knowledge of the various types of furniture made expressly for transport in the past, or Campaign Furniture as it is known, the idea for a contemporary campaign-type chair came into being. Eventually, I determined that the finished piece was to be a dry assembled chair; there would be no glue holding it together. The chair would rely only on a system of interlocking joints for its strength and it would be simple to assemble or disassemble.

After returning to New York, I crafted the first prototype chair out of a piece of 1" thick Ultralight Fiberboard. Despite the rigidity of the boardÕs thickness, the chair was comfortable. Its design and appearance were quite promising, however it was a little too heavy. A more refined version was then made, using 1/2" laminated corrugated cardboard to problem-solve proportion and joinery. This time a wedge was incorporated into the back of the chair to serve as a kind of keystone holding the other 4 pieces of the chair firmly together. A Finland Birch plywood chair followed the cardboard version to work out precise dimensions, joints and angles. Its 1/2" thickness, however, proved to be a little too thin. The final Chicago Chair prototype was then crafted using a slightly thicker Finland Birch plywood.

The Chicago Chair is available in a limited edition of 10. It comes in either Sidechair, Armchair or Highback styles. Each chair is handmade in 5/8" thickness Finland Birch plywood and is hand rubbed with an oil-finish.