“With chairs, there are just so many ways to address issues and challenges — structural, aesthetic, and ergonomic. It’s a great playground for creativity,” explains Brian Boggs of Brian Boggs Chairmakers, whose Cio Dining Chair recently won the 2019 GOOD DESIGN® Award by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Boggs has submitted a chair for the competition three times within the last four years, and has won the award each time; his other honorees include the Grand Lily Arm Chair and the Sculpted Fanback Chair. He and his company plan to enter another chair for the 2020 competition.
“[This award] is a very nice and big pat on the back,” says Boggs. “It’s a significant validation of what we’re doing, and it encourages me to continue to develop designs.”
Inspiration for the Cio is based on the traditional ladderback chair, and Boggs offers it in American hardwoods, but credits the ability to achieve the design to incorporating a linen composite into his structure, as opposed to fiber glass and carbon fiber, which create unhealthy airborne particles.
“[Using linen composite] is a process that’s at least 3,000 years old, and we’re integrating it into furniture in a way that’s totally new.”
Brian Boggs Chairmakers, 239 Amboy Road, Asheville. For more information, call 828-298-9701 or see brianboggschairmakers.com. Also on Instagram: @brianboggschairmakers, @boggsbench, and Facebook: Brian Boggs Chairmakers.