First (real) Foray into Furniture

I have dabbled in furniture design on a few occasions in the past. Examples of earlier work can be seen in previous posts (Reveal Table, Hohlümmeln chair). Last Fall, however, I had the opportunity to undertake my first real project in this area. Bernhardt|design, the contemporary division of the well-known furniture giant, Bernhardt, sponsored a furniture studio at Art Center. As it was a group project, I had the pleasure of teaming up with two other students, Ini Archibong and Stephanie Stalker. As anyone knows, working in a team presents its own set of challenges beyond those directly associated with the design brief. "Team Number One" as our team was aptly referred to was no exception. There were times we were almost literally at each others' throats. Three strong personalities in one group will do that. However stressful and chaotic it could be at times, these were far outnumbered by the good times. We each found our niche roles within the team and pulled together like a family in the closing days of the project.

The design brief was to develop and fabricate a full-scale working prototype of a new task table. If you're not familiar with this term, a task table is the type of table that would be used in highly professional settings such as boardrooms, executive conference rooms, or up-scale offices. Requirements included a tilting top, legs that facilitate "coving" (nesting multiple tables) for storage, full electrical & Ethernet connectivity, and cord management. Incorporating all these functional requirements while developing a fresh, unique and attractive aesthetic was no small challenge...and we certainly faced our share of difficulties.

We were nearly 6 weeks into the 14 week project before we felt we finally truly understood what the client wanted...at which point we were basically back at the beginning. The up side was we now carried a month and a half's worth of experience, styling exercises and knowledge of what WOULDN'T work. The team leveraged our refined understanding of the clients needs and, with a strategic push in the right direction, developed our final concept for presentation to the client in the last days of 2009.

Their response? With a lovely North Carolina accent, "It's drop dead gorgeous!"

Our design, called the SERIF TABLE, addresses the changing relationship people have with work and the need for a table which feels equally well suited in both residential or commercial settings. At the time of post, the table is in pre-production, and while it will be available for purchase through the Bernhardt|design website as of January 2011, the table makes it's official debut the following May at ICFF 2011. It is also scheduled to be on display at NeoCon next year as well. I would love to share the design with you now, but the details of the design must remain a secret until it's official unveiling.