Since we have recently have had a number of new followers and subscribers, I thought I'd revisit the story of our Emi pods. And for our long time followers, this will be a little refresher. ;)
When I worked with the American Hardwood Export Council in late 2015 to develop a piece for their Seed to Seat project, I had no idea the proposed design would win so many hearts from the day it was shown at Denfair in 2016. The collaborative project involving a number of Australia and New Zealand's designers, was aimed to raise environmental awareness and “new” American hardwoods to the Australian market. The carbon footprint being recorded throughout the project. We found out that it would take 0.12 seconds to grow the wood required for the Emi pod in the US hardwood forest and that the timber is carbon negative when it arrives in Australia. Quite impressive.
When I first looked into the timbers available for the project, I loved the very subtle tinge of ‘red’ coming from the American Red Oak, it was rich, had a beautiful warmth and a stunning grain.
My approach to design is generally with a pure and simple aesthetic so the shape of the pod was very basic, but I was keen to push the concept a little further using carving to create a 3 dimensional texture and really show the grain of the timber. The scalloping on the sides enhances the visual and tactile appeal. It was also important for me to showcase what can be done with solid timber, I wanted my design to be a solid piece but also have a delicate aesthetic.
The main challenge was in the manufacturing and I was truly impressed by the ingenuity of the team at Evostyle to come up with a process that could replicate my design pretty much to the millimetre.
Emi is also named after one of my little nephew Emilien, back home in France.
A good news is that we can still take orders for the Emi (and/or his cousin the Max table) until the 20th October COB for pre-Christmas deliveries.
Get in touch now if you need pricing or to place a last minute order.
Anne-Claire.
Group GSA / Artillery. Photo: Nicole England
Left to Right: 1- InForm - Photo: Derek Swalwell, 2- Haymes Paint campaign: Photo Martina Gemmola, 3- Tom Robertson Architects, Photo: Tatjana Plitt, 4- Taylor Knights Architects, Photo: Tom Blachford.
A short clip of images of our Emi, manufacturing in action.
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