Story: Furniture

In 1944 the Auckland furniture designer Garth Chester made the cantilevered Curvesse chair. It was made from four sheets of 3/16th plywood pressed together to make a single form. Two solid runners provide a stable base. The pivotal moment in their manufacture was when the press was closed – if there were no loud cracking noises the makers knew they had succeeded. The failure rate was about one in five, and about 80 of the chairs were sold.