I loved the BRC Designs booth at ICFF. I spent quite some time in there just touching and playing with everything.
BRC is Benjamin Rollins Caldwell, who loves designing using odd and unusual materials, making very functional items out of them. Every piece asks you to interact with it, but they don’t feel over-designed or unusable.
Spider sofa, table and chairs — named obviously because of the many legs.
The Deuces Wild chair is made from old playing cards.
The Fencing Table is fencing mask material wrapped in canvas and riveted.
The Organ collection contains a table, chair and bed. The chair’s cushion is clear plastic revealing the inside stuffing pellets.
The Slinky tables are literally bouncy. I wish I took a video, because you can press down in the middle of them and they bounce.
Heidi on 05.24.2010 at 14:33 PM
I saw this exhibitor as well. Overall, I enjoyed the many types of design showcased at the ICFF — except this one. I wouldn’t say the designs were very functional. The spider sofa is upholstered with zippers, which will destroy whatever you wear when its many teeth snag your clothes. If you look closely at the slinky table, there isn’t a glass surface. You actually can’t use it as a table.
I think the ideas are clever but please don’t call them functional.
Jaime (post author) on 05.24.2010 at 14:43 PM
I agree that you can’t place a cup on the slinky table unless you were to get a piece of glass specially cut for it, but it can be used to hold larger items. Definitely not the place for a glass of red wine.
I sat in a few of the chairs and I thought they were comfortable and not as awkward as they look. Overall, I did feel that the majority of the pieces were functional.
Emory on 05.24.2010 at 15:29 PM
I have seen this piece in person and think the slinky table is both beautiful and functional. I don’t know about you, but everything I place on my tables are not fragile and filled with a liquid. The designer explains his reason for the lack of a glass top here: http://brcdesigns.com/blog1/the-glass-debacle/
Rachel on 05.24.2010 at 15:52 PM
I’ve actually sat in the spider sofa-I don’t think it looks awkward at all-and it’s really comfortable. I thought at first being a girl, I would get my hair stuck in the zippers but I laid on it and moved around and had no problems with getting clothes or hair caught.
The slinky table is one of my favorite designs. I love how original it is and I also tried it out for fear of it springing back…with the help of gravity, it actually keeps your stuff from bouncing.
Perhaps Heidi needs to research a little more and actually try out each piece before making judgements.