Part I: Meet the Designers & Artists behind Take A Seat event in NYC: transforming a chair for charity

this beauty resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the American Wing
IFDA TAKE a SEAT 
is taking shape...
You may have heard about this event:
Three IFDA Chapters simultaneously
hosting chair "upcycle" events in
NYC
JAPAN
and SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
with proceeds going to hurricane victims.

written by Tamara Matthews-Stephenson 

of Nest by Tamara 

Here is NYC, 

we have an exciting line-up planned 
with 23 designers and artists working on chairs.  
We have two celebrations --a sneak preview at TOTO on May 7.

then, for 10 days following, 

the expansive Lillian August Showroom in NYC

will display the 22 chairs in their windows and showroom, 

culminating with a gala celebration where the chairs will be auctioned off by

designer Jamie Drake, FASID 
who will serve as the celebrity MC for the evening.
drakedesignassociates.com

let's take a look at some of our talents 
working their magic on chairs?

6. Frederick P. Victoria & Son 
fpvictoriaandson Facebook Page

 will be reissuing and re-imagining a Regency style chair design 

from their design archive, 

and as a preview of its 80^th Anniversary Chair Collection. 

5. Katharine Wood 
founder and owner, Antonia Tile 
http://antoniatile.com/ 

spotted the perfect chair, but alas, while en route to the ATM it was sold.  So, a quick regroup Katharine found a diminutive chair at a local garage sale, but it is in dire need of some refurbishing.  Katharine plans to incorporate her tiles into the design of the chair, creating more of a sculptural art installation rather than a function chair to awe the crowd.

a work in progress, and evolving...

4. Andrea Mihalik of Wild Chairy 
www.wildchairy.com

 found her stunning chair at an auction, and the shape is what caught her eye. The curvy legs and feminine back dictated the direction of her re-design which will include Designer Guild fabric and an application to the back of the chair. 

3. designer and artist Sam Simon
 www.samsimonprojects.com

 hunted down this diamond in the rough at Brooklyn's Film Biz Recycling Prop Shop. He saw something special in this beat down broken princess.  Her brass tipped faceted legs and sculpted floral accent just cry out for a little love and magic to truly become the throne she is destined to be.  Inspired by chinoiserie, goth punk fashion, drag queens, music and royalty Mr. Simon will combine saturated color, jewelry findings, and mixed media to make a throne that will surely rule the room. 

Simon's "before" chair

2.  Tamara Matthews-Stephenson 

NYC residential interior designer & freelance writer, author of Nest by Tamara,
http://nestnestnest.blogspot.com

Stephenson's "before" chair

Tamara found a "Plain Jane" yet sturdy Baker mahogany Indonesian chair with straight lines and a caned back at a second hand shop in the Hamptons.

Inspiration for the chair is the spirit of rebuilding, and remembering the ocean and natural world are imposing, beautiful and powerful.  The chair is an homage to the sea.

Tamara transformed it utilizing unique paint colors, antique decoupage prints and ethereal fabric

Donations:

Farrow & Ball paint

Robert Allen Fabric

Martin Albert Upholstery

Jana Platina Phipps
Brimar trims

1. Interior Designer & Product Designer, 
Michael Tavano

michaeltavano.com
blog   http://www.mtcustom.com

NYC interior designer Michael Tavano stars in the BBC’s hit television series House of the Year. He plans to surprise us with his chair designs for May 16