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The Slow Chair by The Bouroullec Brothers: My Favorite Armchair of 2008

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Here's a comfy old man's chair for anyone under 40.

A good chair is easy to love, hard to find, and I don't crave many. Last week, we were walking by the Vitra shop over in MePa, and I saw Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec's Slow Chair for the first time in person. It was marvelous. Generous and comfy looking, it was a lot of things that modern furniture usually isn't, but that is usually the sort of thing the Bouroullec's pull off. They create one amazing thing about every other year...

 
 

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Ronan testing one of their early prototypes

Here's my favorite armchair of 2008. It's made of aluminum, is incredibly light and finds its form in a "precisely shaped knit which is stretched over the metal frame like a fitted stocking." All of which allows it to come in a beautiful range of colors while any mix of pillows and textile remain visible from all sides. Made by Vitra, the Slow Chair and Ottoman is available with cushions at most of these good online shops for a sizable amount of clamshells.

>> Slow Chair & Ottoman post by Aaron
>> The Bouroullec Brothers
>> Slow Chair at Vitra

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AT Email, living room, best products, seating - sofas & armchairs, Vitra, Bouroullec

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Comments (12)

come on how hard is it to make a gorgeous comfy chair for over $4k- the retail price of that bouroullec?? how about for under $800? - now that would be really cool & innovative

posted by TAmom on September 15th 2008 at 7:54am
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mmm....$4k is a lot. It looks like it uses cheaper materials...I guess you are paying for the design. Sigh. I no pay.

posted by Keyse on September 15th 2008 at 7:58am
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o, my bad, the chair is $3k, the ottoman half that.
still insanely high for stocking over aluminum frame, no matter how clever.

posted by TAmom on September 15th 2008 at 8:04am
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So is 40 the divider between young and "old"?

posted by ChrisToronto on September 15th 2008 at 8:25am
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Geez - an Eero Saarinen Womb Chair would be cheaper...
...and you could put a cup of coffee on the arms.

posted by bepsf on September 15th 2008 at 8:29am
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It does not look all that comfy to me---how comfy can metal arms be to the body(not)! No matter how old one is.
The man in the first photo does not look comfy to me at all.
4k for what looks like a patio chair from Ikea.

posted by poptart on September 15th 2008 at 8:59am
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I really like the simplicity and visual transparency/ lightness of this chair.

As for the price, I agree with above posts but I think Vitra knows that a segment of the market will pay it, knowing that the price will guarantee the buyer some measure of exclusivity.

Low volume-high margin has always been a successful strategy for the high-end, whether it be with automobiles, fashion or furniture.

posted by lightspeed on September 15th 2008 at 9:04am
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If the material is anything like an Aeron chair, it must be supremely comfortable.

posted by Lisa Hunter (Montreal) on September 15th 2008 at 9:07am
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Ridiculous! That chair looks like $169.00 and should be available at Ikea or Target.

posted by gymfly on September 15th 2008 at 9:09am
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Any sharp object on the chair, like a metal back pocket button, or back zipper and it's history...

posted by minty on September 15th 2008 at 9:27am
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And definitely not pet friendly. I've considered buying the Aeron chair for our office, but I know that it will be destroyed almost immediately by the cats. Definitely not something that can be easily recovered or repaired once that happens.

posted by Grumpy Girl on September 15th 2008 at 12:11pm
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4K is absolutely retarded.

posted by medusa12120 on January 3rd 2009 at 5:29pm
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