02/04/2012

sm05 by Cees Braakman

Today I thought I’d bring across some nice imagery of a chair and also some history and background to go alongside it. This specific piece, named sm05, was designed by Dutch designer Cees Braakman in 1958 and was one of the first chairs to be entirely fabricated from steel wire. It’s a classic design, something that may remind you on the Charles and Ray Eames Wire Chair, but comes with some functional aspects such as the backrest being the perfect shape to contour to the body.

These specific images were collected from the Pastoe website, a company that Braakman worked at when he was 17, his father happened to be the manager and head draftsman at the time. During this period he worked himself up to manager and head of design, helping to produce several lines of popular furniture which were perfect for the growing export market. One specific change in his mindset was after WWII when Braakman was sent overseas to the United States to study other manufacturers, one company named Herman Miller particular caught his eye. Once he got back to the Netherlands the works of various famous furniture designers, hence the Charles and Ray Eames influence, made him experiment with new materials such as plywood and steel leading to the production of this chair and many other great storage solutions and furniture works.

From what I’ve found Braakman has a great sense of proportion, all of his designs have really clean lines and all use first class materials. I’ll leave you with a few words that sum up my thoughts: simplicity, timelessness, quality and craftsmanship.

If you’ve got a spare moment today I would urge you to bookmark the Pastoe website as a place to visit, they’ve got some nice little sections which will definitely inspire you. I particularly enjoy looking through the “snapshots” section which showcases some imagery of the furniture in their showroom and at other locations.

www.pastoe.com