Good evening, everyone:

I just received a note from my brother, Toby, mentioning that he was returning from a trip to complete production of a piece of furniture my father imagined almost 80 years ago. Toby has been thinking for quite some time about fabricating the “Chair of Tomorrow,” a whimsical piece that seemed more a flight of fancy than an entrant into the next generation of furniture design. But it looks like it will actually be produced.

One quick look suggests why this might have been a bit difficult to pull off. And indeed, it took 80 years to do. Hard to know exactly what changed – pliable materials versus bent-wood? infinite fabric upholstery options versus wool weaves or heaven-knows what else Dad had in mind? 3D printers versus tape measures and slide-rules?

But one hopes that it will be worth the wait. Consider:

• It’s really easy to sit slightly tilted back for television viewing;

• Or . . .  you can use the left arm for a headrest and dangle your legs over the right one – kind of like a cooler La-Z-Boy Recliner:

• Or . . . you can share it with someone else:

• Or . . . you could just combine it with a bunch of other mid-century modern chairs and open a hip furniture store:

(Rapson, Inc., Copley Square Boston, circa 1950)

• Or, I suppose . . . you could simply add it to the Kresge Furniture Showroom, divided between next to Sarah T’s workstation and on the downstairs patio:

Can’t wait to see how the whimsy plays out. Good luck, Toby!

Rip

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