How to Weave a Chair

In any woodworking project several processes are involved – typically sawing, joining, sanding and finishing. In this project however, I wanted to include as many woodworking processes as possible – traditional as well as modern technology. Also, I wanted to challenge the design to be as thin and light as possible in order to use the wood to its full potential.

I had to build a steam bender, two moulds and several jigs. I used 3D printing, CAD drawing and sketching to reach the final result – a woven chair.

Dynamic design

The design process is as complicated and important as the making itself. I rarely doodle down a chair on a napkin, model it in 3D and follow the drawings. Instead, it’s a dynamic process that moves between sketching, detail models, ergonomic rigs, mock-ups, CAD modelling, 3D printing, back to sketching, and so on. As an example, for this chair I followed the ergonomics of similar chairs I had done in the past, yet still I had to adjust the angles and proportions a few