The Return of the Grand Prix

In the 1940s, Fritz Hansen experimented with steam bending plywood, which caught the attention of the young architect, Arne Jacobsen. Jacobsen normally designed his furniture for a specific purpose, but in 1952, he developed the three-legged Ant - for no other reason than a desire to make an all purpose chair that was easy to stack. This was a chair with a moulded, double curved seat and back element, in one complete piece which, with a light spring in the back, felt both comfortable and secure. 

The Ant proved itself to be Denmark's first real piece of industrial furniture, but at first, Fritz Hansen was not interested in producing the chair. It required major investment in new production machinery, and the manufacturer did not believe it would sell. When Jacobsen turned up with an advance order for 400 chairs for the canteen of Danish healthcare company Novo Nordisk, he was able to convince his manufacturer of the product's potential.

Arne Jacobsen continued to develop the Ant chair, and in 1955, the Series 7 was launched. It had the same self-supporting plywood seat shell and pre-assembled frame of chrome plated legs, but the seat and back were wider, and the new chair was equipped with four legs instead of three to ensure greater stability.

The Finest Distinction

In 1957, one more chair was launched along the same principles. The 3130 chair was introduced at the Designer's Spring Exhibition at the Design Museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen. The chair got its nickname later that year while on show at the Triennale in Milan, when it received the Grand Prix - the finest distinction of the exhibition.

A number of new types of glue had recently been developed that made it possible to glue larger pieces together than previously. Jacobsen exploited this technical triumph to construct a new edition of his steel chair, now with wooden legs as well as seat, and with more defined shape to the back. He saw the chair as an alternative to the first two chairs, which with their steel legs had a rather colder and more industrial expression.

In order to make the new chair's legs appear more slender, he shaved arched lines into the circular legs, so that a section at a right angle to the central line of the legs shows a surface that could almost be a triangle. When the chair first came on the market, the four legs were laminated from 31 layers of veneer. The grooves in the legs' two outside edges ended where the legs reached the bottom of the seat, so that the glued surface on the flat part of the legs could be as large as possible.

The original Grand Prix did not achieve the same level of success or sales figures as either the Ant or the Series 7. This was partly because it was so complicated and expensive to produce, but also due to problems with its construction, which proved to be fragile - the legs broke off too easily, and the chair was taken out of production

New production methods today have made it possible to produce the Grand Prix chair's frame in one piece, which is attached to the bottom of the seat in a circular shape - in exactly the same way as both the Ant and the Series 7. This has improved the chair's construction considerably, making it far sturdier.

This season, Fritz Hansen reintroduce the Grand Prix 4130 with wooden legs which is available in Oak, Walnut or a choice of 9 coloured Ash veneers.

All the chairs mentioned are available at www.utilitydesign.co.uk

Click to view:
The Ant Chair
The Series 7 Chair
The Grand Prix 3130
The Grand Prix 4130

Article Source: Katrine Martensen Larsen for Republic of Fritz Hansen

Re-Introducing Content By Conran

Here at Utility, we are extremely excited to re-introduce the new,beautifully designed & sensibly priced collection of furniture from Content by Conran, the brainchild of the Godfather of British design, Sir Terence Conran.

Sir Terence Conran is the British founder of Habitat who revolutionised the way we live in Britain in the 1960s. In his own words : "My ambition has always been to make good design accessible by creating products that work well, are affordable and look beautiful; qualities that I believe are reflected throughout the Content by Conran collection.

Utility was one of the first stockist of the brand when it was launched in 2003. We had a short break and re-introduced it in 2014 to complement other furniture brands in our collection. Since many items such as the Balance Shelving family have gone on to become design classics they sit comfortably with other wooden classics from manufacturers such as Vitra and Carl Hansen. What's more, all Content by Conran upholstery is made right here in the U.K - so it's only right we do our bit to support this fantastic brand and a corner of the British furniture manufacturing industry still in production. 

Utility now stock the entire Content By Conran catalogue, which can be viewed here.

Spring TIME - WIN Daniel Wellington watch!

For a clean, minimalist and timelessly stylish timepiece this Spring/Summer, the Daniel Wellington watch collection is the perfect fit. 
Part preppy, part heritage, the watch face is the epitome of minimalism. Slimline, round and featuring lines instead of traditional numbers, a discreet brand logo is the only other form of detailing you will find on the face. 
The addition of striped NATO straps that can be swapped out to suit any mood or outfit make this a fresh timepiece that will take you from your work week, to holidays and through any weekend and at this price, it's one of the smartest solutions to sharp sophistication out there this spring. 
For the traditionalists out there, the Daniel Wellington collection also offers leather strap options that mean your perfect Spring/Summer watch can come with you right through into Autumn/Winter. DW watches are the without a doubt, the Timeless Timepiece.

Don't just take our word for it - All these top style companies have featured the collection on their covers.  

With prices starting at £129, additional NATO straps available at £25 and shipping available worldwide, let us upgrade your style this season.

Good News - You can now win a FREE Daniel Wellington watch by liking our Facebook page  

Vitra launches the EA101 and EA103 Aluminium Dining Chairs

For visual impact the new EA101 and EA103 (a variation on the Aluminium Group Chair) on the Vitra stand in Milan was hard to beat. The Aluminium Group chair is a design icon in its own right and at home in any office but Vitra have slimmed it down, made it lighter and adjusted the sitting position so it's more conducive to dining environments. It's been launched in a total of 25 Hopsak fabrics which, with their two tone weaves, gives the chair a softer, more domestic feel. Maximum impact can be created by mixing and matching fabrics for a real show stopping look. For practicality it also comes in 3 colours of 'Netweave' - Vitra's more robust plastic webbing fabric. The two models differ in that the EA101 comes without arms whilst the EA103 has arms - ideal if you want a dining chair and carver. Both models are available now for delivery in May.

Fritz Hansen Drop Chair - now available!

The Drop Chair from Fritz Hansen - originally designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1956-60 is now a commercial reality! Designed for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen only around 300 of the chairs were ever produced and it never entered commercial production for the public to buy. However, thanks to advances in material production, a bit of modern technology and an X-ray of one of the few surviving original chairs to examine the construction, the Drop Chair has been recreated with a polypropylene shell. In 6 complementary muted colours it comes with legs in the same colour as the shell or chrome. For those requiring a softer look the Drop Upholstered Chair comes in a huge variety of fabrics to suit any colour scheme. We're taking orders now for delivery in September. An icon comes to life!

Knoll Brno Chair - Extra comfort at 30% less!!

First it was the Saarinen Conference Chair, now Knoll have turned their attention to the Tubular Brno Chair.  After extensive re-modelling of the interior structure of the seat and back pads, this beautiful chair, designed by Mies van der Rohe is now available with dramatically increased comfort and at a huge 30% price reduction.

Already celebrated for its lean profile, clean lines and exquisite details, this design icon of the 20th century can now add extreme comfort to its list of qualities.

The Knoll Brno Chair is now available with or without armrests, in a selection of Volo leathers, and with prices starting at just £1140, there really has never been a better time to invest in this design classic.

New Classics from Gubi

This Spring sees the the reintroduction of the 'Paradiset' range of upholstery from Gubi. This set of three classical pieces was originally designed by Swedish modern architect and designer Kerstin Hörlin-Holmquist for Nordiska Kompaniet in 1956-57.  She is remembered  for her ability to create designs for the modern home in the 1950’s without worrying about short lived trends and what other people thought - to stay true to her own unique and humanistic design vision. She often worked with her husband Erik Holmquist, and together they modelled and created the pieces together. A key aspect for the couple was always to test out their designs in their own home before completing a project. “I think both furniture and textiles, wherever they end up, must be kind, gentle and courteous, but without losing their character. They should have human qualities, not be pompous and only stand alone, but able to adapt to the environment they end up in...”

The Paradiset collection ((Swedish for Eden or Paradise) consists of three prices - the first piece was the Eva Armchair, closely followed by its masculine counterpart the Adam Armchair. To complement the two she later designed the Paradiset Sofa and Fig Leaf footstool. Collectively these pieces hold a soft simplicity, they are unique in their appearance - light, clean lines and gracious with an air of romance. Today her designs are highly treasured collectibles and rarely to be found on auctions - but they can all now be purchased online again in a range of Kvadrat, Gabriel and Fanny Aronsen upholstery choices.