Prince Chair

The assigned criteria was to create a one of a kind chair to be auctioned off at a charity event with the personal goal of being voted best chair. The contest had 30 entries by 60 designers.

The event opportunity was brought to my attention at about the same time the musician Prince passed away. As a fan, I was moved to honor him through this avant-garde, philanthropic, creative expression.

The Prince symbol dominates the design as the curved chair back. It is 3’ thick. The curve is made from 1/8” laminations of bent poplar which were glued and clamped in a curved form.

After the curved slab was un-clamped from the form, the Prince symbol emerged by flush trimming its shape to a pattern with a router and a top bearing bit. A large bull-nose was used on the front and back for more definition and detail. The sanding was done by machine as well as by hand.

The base is very substantial and built to hold almost double the weight. It was made from stack laminated Baltic birch 3/4” plywood. The original sculpting was done in styrofoam. Once the prototype was created, the main wooden base was made using a chain saw and electric grinder which is typical for stack laminated contemporary furniture.

The purple "crackly" finish was inspired by the song "Purple Rain." The back of the chair surprises with a large scale image of Prince's face.

This one of a kind piece was a joy to make and allowed me to express my inspiration in different ways then I usually get a chance to.