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They say necessity is the mother of invention, and to us, developing a quality, locally made stacking chair alternative to imported products was an important brief to explore. Taking this challenge as a starting point, we worked with designer Adam Goodrum to embark on a series of material and form explorations that eventually resulted in the Cycle chair and barstool.
‘It was a challenge designing a commercial chair that competes with an imported chair, made in places where labour rates are a lot lower than Australia. There is a fair amount of rigor and skill required to create a locally made product at this kind of price point,’ shares Adam Goodrum.
The team conducted material exploration during the discovery phase. ‘We tried different materials to determine which would suit the manufacturing processes and meet the cost budget,’ explains Gordon Tait, our Founding Director and sheet metal craftsman. ‘We decided on steel for its durability and stability, using it exclusively so that we could weld the entire chair in one process.’
With this efficiency, cost-effectiveness is embedded into the design, with an aesthetic silver lining: steel also complements the common architectural finishes, such as cement, brick and local timber used extensively across commercial projects. In addition, there are environmental benefits of Cycle’s material purity. ‘The product can be repaired and recoated as required – and can be 100% recycled at the end of its life,’ explains our Creative Director Susan Tait, who spearheads our sustainability agenda. ‘The stackable design will also be cheaper to freight and equal fewer carbon miles,’
The development of Cycle saw a significant investment in technology, to import an advanced tube-bending machine from Japan. This tube bender is now at home in our factory in Thomastown, adding to our growing suite of metal-crafting machines and capabilities.
*Cycle was previously constructed in aluminium, however has evolved with market feedback to full mild steel construction to enhance stability and durability.
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