The Making of Half Moon for Chairity 2020.

Getting creative, collaborating, and creating something brand new - all to support our community? Sign us up! Learn more about our collaboration with BAR Architects for Chairity 2020.

What is Chairity?

In its sixth year, Chairity is an event hosted by two (an SF-based furniture dealership) where designers and manufacturers, both local and international, come together to turn a forgotten chair into a piece of art - upcycling as they say. Who's they? Not sure. This year, two presented the teams with a fun little twist.

Upon completing the creations, two hosts a grand event to auction off the designs, giving all the money raised during and before the event to local nonprofits. This Chairity 2020 nonprofits are American Red Cross Fire Relief, Black Organizing Project, Project Color Corps, Family Dog Rescue, and Hamilton Families.

The Challenge.

So the twist. For this year, Chairity gave its participants carte blanche to design anything they wanted without constraints. We (the manufacturer) were partnered with BAR, an architecture firm based in SF, through Chairity's random selection process. We couldn't be happier. 

This challenge allowed us to work closely with fellow designers, push our creativity outside of our norms, and give back and impact the community around us. It was especially exciting to shake the restriction from years past of repurposing an old chair; this year we got to design from scratch.

Brainstorming.

A few Slack messages and emails later, we were on a call with BAR Architects brainstorming ideas. Our initial session was a great indicator BAR was going to be a strong partner. They pushed us to create outside of our safety net. It was refreshing and challenging all at the same time.

Everyone pitched in on concept creation. We shared sketches, renderings, and models frequently to collaborate and iterate through the design until we reached a consensus. BAR brought tons of inspiring ideas to the zoom call that we could build on, refine, and finally bring to life.  

Inspiration Strikes.

Because we weren't grounded in repurposing a chair, we could make anything. Luckily we all immediately gravitated towards creating something for the home, really leaning hard into the theme "ApArt but Twogether.". We wanted to center this piece around how our personal home and family lives and our professional lives are now physically interwoven. Our creation had to incorporate our current reality- working from home with kids running around in the background of a Zoom call or a partner making dinner a few feet from your "office," aka the kitchen table. We wanted to create a piece that celebrates and embraces the needs of the home office.

Every good project needs constraints.

We knew we were up against a deadline to complete this project, so we had to figure out what we could do that we would be able to produce in time. Pair was ready to offer up our manufacturing capabilities, which ultimately steered the materials we would use to design and build. As the manufacturer, we drove the material choices and construction methods to work within our best capabilities. Organically constraints around the project developed. 

As the manufacturer, we drove the material choices and construction methods to work within our best capabilities.

From sketch to the final product.

The design started as one integrated piece of desk and chair, all one-and-the-same, all welded together. The initial sketch had a very simplistic chair; we went back and forth if the chair should be integrated or a standalone. We came up with a lot of variations. As we kept iterating, we realized that we wanted the chair to be removable.

We created a sleek looking desk where you can work and have any resident kids lounge and quietly read a book next to you. We knew we wanted to incorporate kids by leveraging the magnetic wall, keeping them busy yet within reach. The cushion is the ultimate nap spot for a cat, which harkens back to our original concept of making this piece function for a pet. Everything started falling into place.

We used a light, colorful palette to add a level of lightheartedness (and the Pair-touch you are all familiar with) and circular forms inspired by the yin yang symbol – a perfect form to represent this year's theme "ApART but Twogether." The yin yang holds two separates within a whole, showing how 2020 entails moments of separation, yet finding comfort in remaining part of a broader community, mirroring how right now we must find a balance between home and work.

Instead of hiding in a back room or an office, this product breaks down the "work wall" and plays comfortably into the home setting.