Design Guild Mark Holder
Hardy Chair
Name of Designer:
David Irwin155
2016
Another Country
Old Furniture, a poem by Dorset born Thomas Hardy, is an ode to beauty of furniture being handed down through generations, and David Irwin’s Hardy chair is a classic in the making. Two chair typologies from the 19th century inspired its design: the Captain’s chair, originally a low-backed wooden armchair, and the Smoker’s bow, a low back Windsor, often used in public houses, barber shops and cottages.
David Irwin is an industrial designer driven by a curiosity for how and why things are made. For Irwin, design ideas grow from a desire to assign purpose to both traditional and contemporary manufacturing processes. Originally from Northern Ireland, Irwin was drawn to Northumbria University in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, by its reputation for hands-on teaching and a holistic approach to 3-D design.
