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Take a seat

Yvonne Lai

Most furniture designers hope for a strong reaction to their pieces. Lucie McCullough received just that when she approached a local carpenter to realise a one-off design. 'I was at the Zitan workshop that specialises in Ming dynasty carpentry techniques,' the Hong Kong-based British interior and bespoke furniture designer says.

'When I explained my concept to one of the craftsmen, he said that it was a challenge he was excited to meet but before he went any further, that he'd better visit his mother's grave and burn some joss sticks for luck and respect.'

A fusion design that borrows from what McCullough says are her three great cultural influences (Chinese, Scandinavian and Navajo), the item required building a Ming dynasty-style yoke-back armchair onto an American frontier-style rocking chair base.

Using traditional tongue-and-groove assemblage on reclaimed elm wood, craftsmen took a month of trial and error to get things right. The unvarnished wood was left bare save for its white napa leather seat cover.

'The lack of finish is very Scandinavian,' McCullough says. 'We tried beeswax at first, but it darkened the wood too much. I thought about painting it white but, in the end, the wood was just too beautiful on its own.'

McCullough's Rocking Boundaries chair is one of six unique chairs created from scratch or customised and donated by as many local style-makers to this year's Festival of Trees auction, in support of Hong Kong-based Changing Young Lives Foundation's work with children from underprivileged backgrounds. 'We wanted to inject something new this year, and draw a younger crowd as well,' says Sally Thompson, chairwoman of the fund-raiser. 'We've put out what we conceived as a practical idea to the designers, and they've come out with some highly creative chairs.'

Jennifer Woo, president of Lane Crawford, commissioned a miniature from Squint's Heritage Collection of 18th-century English styles. The London-based bespoke workshop's signature patchwork textiles are upholstered over a hard wood frame with dowelled joints and carved mahogany legs, and finished with lime green Swarovski crystal detailing.

Marisa Zeman, Lan Kwai Fong Group director, contributed two humorous pieces. Taking two plain, pre-fabricated chairs - 'recycled' from one of her family's restaurants - Zeman simply 'dressed' the back and seat with the classic uniforms of a waiter - with crisp white shirt, black vest and bowtie - and a sushi chef, complete with fishermen canvas shoes on the front legs.

'A lot of things I do I like to keep close to my heart,' says Zeman. 'I thought it would be fun to do something that reflected Lan Kwai Fong.'

Designer Kathryn Friend's chair is a muscular version of a Donghia dining chair, with a wide cushioned seat upholstered in raised velvet damask. The curved back was constructed with small wood pieces then laminated in a flexible walnut veneer. The edges were painted red to 'give it a more funky look', Friend says.

By far the most process-driven piece came from a collaboration between Joanne Ooi, now the CEO of Clean Air Network (CAN) and director of Ooi Botos Gallery, and Jessica Louie, also with CAN. Ooi is quick to point out her role as mentor and credits Louie, who has a fine art background, with the evolution of the ideas and the process.

'I saw this as an opportunity not only to contribute to a good cause, but also to showcase the talent of a young artist,' Ooi says. 'We brainstormed extensively and came up with different ideas, which she saw through production. I reined her in, but she really put herself into it.'

'The chair is an ordinary, everyday object,' Louie says. 'I wanted to make something that inspired [people] to think differently about their everyday surroundings.

'I was thinking about this as a charity providing disadvantaged children with creative and social activities that build confidence. What I wanted to [convey with the piece is] hope, and that life can be fun with the help of exercised imagination.'

That idea manifests as a sculptural piece that straddles art and design. Using studio art materials and techniques such as found objects, spray paint, acrylic and papier mache, Louie built a chair back made of four white balloons mounted on painted steel rods. The text on each stem reads, from left to right, 'Passion Makes Life Happy'.

'For a lot of these children, life can be bland and concrete,' Louie says. 'There is all this untapped potential - which the balloons represent. But there is colour if only you concentrate and aim for it.'

Accompanying the chair are a plastic toy bow and arrows that invite interactivity. Radiating from the pristine whiteness of one of the orbs is a rainbow-coloured ripple.

The display strategy of these six chairs at the Times Square plaza (until tomorrow evening) may elicit mixed reviews.

Tucked behind the entrance to the Causeway Bay MTR, the chairs are scattered amid the 'trees' - donated tree-themed installations by private individuals and corporations.

The design strength of the pieces will be highlighted better when the chairs make their final appearance at a silent auction on Saturday at Armani Bar in Central.

As for the designers' desired reaction, Zeman says, 'I hope that people find it as fun as I did to create and that they like them enough to bid high on them - nothing to do with me or my design ego, but for the charity.'

The silent auction for the Festival of Trees auction will be held on Sat from 7.30pm-10.30pm at Armani Bar, 2/F Chater House, 11 Chater Rd, Central. Admission for auction and party is HK$1,380. For reservations call Loretta Ng at 9803 8423.

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