Sunday Morning Designer: Butt, what? - A short history of the Muskoka Chair...

Sunday Morning Designer: Butt, what? - A short history of the Muskoka Chair...: "http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/ Landmarks are a way for us to decipher where we are. They can be pinnacles of location, iconic forms..."

Butt, what? - A short history of the Muskoka Chair

http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/

Landmarks are a way for us to decipher where we are. They can be pinnacles of location, iconic forms with instantly recognizable silhouettes of a specific geographic spot. In Rome, the cobble stone streets take you through the city unexpectedly winding you into the heart of it’s ancient relics. New York, a proud lady in green has towered over the waters welcoming new faces since 1886. While basking in the sun on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Christ the Redeemer one of the new Seven Wonders of the World looks over his city’s bathing bodies. There is a primal need to create items, totems, beacons that reflect a population and set’s their home apart from another’s.

As captured from my old balcony by Mr. Chris Benfey

City slickers wander through their streets catching a glimpse of these silent monuments as they bob in and out of sight behind towering buildings. It’s a constant, even when out of sight they stand proud, simply through their designs. One of the wonderful things about iconic landmarks is that they don’t always have to be so grand, so singular or even so impractical. Still proud and defined some landmarks have evolved from function, are mass produced and yet are just as essential to one’s environment.

For a handful of lucky Canadians this hallmark silhouette is none other than the Muskoka Chair. A timeless form synonymous with outdoor living, quite morning sunrises with coffee and loon filled evenings of star gazing. Without a doubt what the CN Tower is to the skyline of Toronto, the Muskoka chair is to Canadian cottage country. It’s leaning back, wide arm rests and curved seat carefully cradle’s it’s occupant in its sturdy form. It is a chair that’s all about relaxation, good conversation or quiet moments alone. So the question I ask as a designer, how did this outdoor landmark come to be?

Entering into my second back to back weekend of cottaging I couldn’t help but become intrigued with finding out more about these chairs. In full out Canadiana mode, refreshed with a swim in Lake Scootamatta, I looked to shore as 4 chairs lined the beach watching over me. Commencing my research my Canadian self became slightly bruised when I realized I had forgotten about the Adirondack chair. Muskoka’s southern brother and as it turns out the originator of our beloved cottage butt dock. Pulling at my toque I took a deep breath of acceptance and began to fall in love with it’s camp fire story worthy history.

http://www.cfnet.net/yc/images/ycupdate/westport1905.jpg

Originally designed by Thomas Lee in 1903, this gentleman crafted a chair while vacationing in Westport, New York, home of the Adirondack Mountains. The design for Lee’s “Westport plank chair” was created from a single board of which eleven pieces were cut. Its hallmark reclined backrest provided the perfect vantage point in which the sitter could lean back and take in their surroundings. Lee offered up his design to a carpenter friend in Westport who recognized the opportunity to sell this chair to fellow vacationers. Harry Bunnell spent the winter crafting chairs and decided to file for a patent in 1905. He didn’t ask permission from Lee but let’s hope they were able to get past this detail and share a couple of cold brews while seated on the dock. Lee went on to spend the next 20 years outfitting the Adirondacks with maxing-relaxing sittage.

I came across an excellent article written by Douglas Hunter which appeared in the April 2009 issue of Cottage Life. His comprehensive analysis brought another designer to the table in discovering the Adirondack chair’s roots. The early 1900’s places Bunnell and Lee right in the middle of the Arts and Crafts movement. Headed by the infamous William Morris, his Morris chair designed by Philip Webb in 1866 does have a striking resemblance to that of the Adirondack. Glessner House describe the chair as having “wide arms to accommodate books, a loose cushioned seat, and a reclining back that is adjustable....it went on to become a must-have for every household in America”. Sounds familiar? Apparently, the inspiration for this design stemmed from a chair the company’s manager Warington Taylor had see in Sussex.

This being said, we can always come back to an eternal design debate, which came first? But let’s give credit where do and continue on in this Muskoka Chair search...

Apartment Therapy's Find

In trying to track down the Muskoka name-sake, Hunter alludes to a variation on Bunnell’s original 1905 patent. In a less glamourous setting the varied design integrated a bedpan and was used widely in the institutional market. The Canadian patent was granted in 1907 during a period when tuberculosis was treated with healthy doses of fresh air. Gravenhurst became home to the first Sanatorium named the Muskoka Cottage in 1897. This could be where the chair first entered the Canadian outdoors, however the Adirondack namesake continued on. While this is theoretical the Adirondack Chair was marketed as such and available through Eaton’s well into the ’50.

The 50’s, 60’s and 70’s saw a lost in interest in the bulky wood chair in favour of compact, plastic and light-weight outdoor seating. The chair fell out of popularity as polymers and aluminum ruled the manufacturing market. It wasn’t until the 80’s that Canadians may have a leg to stand on in the history of the Muskoka Chair.

The Bear Chair Company

In South River, Ontario The Bear Chair Company re-introduced the chair to the Canadian market. Its founder David Wright saw the potential in the original patented design and created a ready to assemble format. Manufacturing 100 chairs in his first year, David’s business quickly grew nationally and internationally and are now exported all over the world. Incorporating FSC wood they carry on a century old tradition in style and green savvy.

Leave it to Canadians to rediscover a clunky wood chair and make it cool once again. Especially as we see a resurgence in natural materials, practical and longevity in design and a connection to items handmade. Today it’s easy to track down ready-to-assemble Muskoka chairs on your way up north or scoop up a couple of pre-loved chairs at a yard sale. But it is undeniable that no matter where you spend your northern summer vacations there’s bound to be some form of this chair nearby. Available in a multitude of styles and shapes there is a fabrication to suit any cottagers.

I personally am drawn to the recycled wood and plastic varieties, weighing in at a steep $299 I can’t help but love knowing it’ll last a couple of lifetimes. Drawing to a close I can honestly say my bum would prefer a Muskoka chair right. And as I make plans to head up north tomorrow morning, I know I’ll look at the Muskoka chair with a little more respect. Is it possible that 100 years from now, when we’re zipping around in floating cars we’ll still want to head up to the cottage? Disconnect from life for a couple of days and enjoy a coffee pill and a good novel on Mac’s 101 generation iPad. Hopefully by then they’ll have solved the issue of cottage country traffic. Until next week I suggest you find your local Muskoka chair and take a load off, stroke it’s wide arms and lean back for a minute or two for a rest.

Creed - Carol Reed's Mod Finds

Design is everything. Everything!

“Design everything”, infamous words from my second semester Interior’s professor. Some individuals know from an early age what they want to do with their lives. As an 80’s baby the doors were wide open, my choices were endless. “Do what you love”, went hand in hand with this decision process and for the next 20 years I did the exact opposite. Well, that’s not totally true after graduating with a B.A. I found myself doing what I thought I should do.


Lifeguard, turn nanny, to selling gym memberships then buying media, I spent 6 years pursuing career paths that left me feeling more lost than accomplished. While I picked up some life skills along the way it wasn’t that I was confused about where to go. Rather I was trying to find something that would measure up to what I knew I actually wanted to do.

The desire to design has coursed through my veins from as early as I can remember. Sitting in a lifeguard chair I would be overwhelmed by the early light entering the space. Spending time at the park with 2 youngsters it was an experiment in forms and function. Gym tours became subconscious space planning challenges, while media buying flamed a need for office space that were environmentally conscious.

I woke up at 26 and realized I had to stop fooling myself, advertising was treating me well but I needed to start my life. My first day of design school at Sheridan came around last September 2009 and I finally feel excited for my professional future. Late nights hung over presentation boards are a labour of love in preparation for the morning’s deadline. Walking through Toronto has become a pop quiz in material choices and identification while stimulating ideas for projects to come. My eyes are becoming accustomed to breaking down a space into elements and seeing the details is takes to comprise a finished product. In the words of Paul Rand, “Design is everything. Everything!”

On the brink of entering my second year, this blog is my opportunity to share my passion, knowledge and generate inspiration. The week tends to be over flowing with work, friends, summer events and summer escapes leaving me to find some time on Sunday to get down to business. A nod to my favourite band growing up “No Doubt”, I declare this, the inaugural blog of the Sunday Morning Designer. A forum, a coliseum, maybe even and Olympic O sized stage in which a young designer on the brink of her design career can share.

With all this being said I want to provide a slice of design think-age and as I sit here sipping coffee it only seems appropriate to share my favourite java spots in Toronto. Selected based on not only their caffeine creations these spots provide an environment purposed to their individual clientele. Full of rich aromas each creates a setting conducive to lazy hours of sipping and you preferred choice of leisure.

In no particular order:

5. Dark Horse Espresso Bar @ 215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 102

The Dark Horse is the home of java elitists, filled with hipster Queen kids and a healthy dose of designers of all walks who inhabit this corner of the city. The interior of this cafe hotspot boasts high ceiling, exposed wood beams and columns, wrap around glazing and is full of visual texture. I especially like the oversized dining tables providing family style seating. Overhead pendants line the bar like frothy drops of milk dripping from the espresso machine’s frother.

What is really wonderful about this space is its home in the Robertson Building, constructed from 1911-1913 by Denison and Stephenson Architects. Built for the James Robertson Company, it housed the company’s showroom which claimed to have the largest display of plumbing and sanitary fixtures in the Dominion of Canada. Its current modern claim is greener as it’s undergone an eco-restorative update. In March 2004, a 250 square foot living wall was installed into the lobby by Air Quality Solutions Ltd. While in June this same year Gardens in the Sky created a rooftop oasis complete with greenery, greenhouse and cedar viewing deck. While the strangers on either side of you may be more interested in their Mac gear, it’s a pretty blissful building to pass a cappuccino in. (Photo: http://www.globalnerdy.com/2009/04/15/dark-horse-cafe-on-spadina-now-open-coffee-and-code-at-the-spadina-dark-horse-this-friday/)

4. Bulldog Cafe @ 89 Granby Street

The offspring of Stuart Ross I first found out about Bulldog Cafe on FoodTV’s show Restaurant Makeover. At this time I was still living in the suburbs and it was only last week that I had my first encounter with this java icon on my walk home. In no hurry I took a couple minutes to step inside and see the final product up close and personal. A glass display case shows off a tantalizing assortment of treats as you walk in, which leads into a black topped bar which runs the length of this space. Laminte stainless steel 2 seater tables are positioned across from the counter with views out onto this quiet residential street. The bar’s black ceramic tile backsplash is countered by the neutral cream walls, featuring cleverly disguised Ikea bookshelves as display space. The designer, Meredith Heron’s nod to a European cafe environment was just as composed in the flesh as it had been on TV.



3. Jet Fuel @ 519 Parliament Street

Jet Fuel is one of my new finds as a result of moving into the neighbourhood of Old Cabbagetown in Toronto. It’s been an institution in the area since 1992 and after a taste of their homemade lemonade it’s no surprise as to why. While I’m not particularly overwhelmed by the design, its narrow long layout provides a unique seating challenge. Stools and narrow bars line the exposed brick walls allowing the locals to lean or perch while waiting for their drinks to cool. The second half of the cafe is up a few steps and offers a quiet and cosier feel. A quiet place to sneak away and read, write or woodcarving should you chose, which I witnessed on my most recent visit. They often mix up the art display on the walls while the high ceilings allow for natural light from the front to stream into the back corners of this local favourite. (Photo: http://ourfaves.com/place/216246/jet-fuel-coffee-shop-inc-toronto)



2. Everyday Gourmet @ 93 Front Street East, St. Lawrence Market on the lower level

Tucked into the corner on the lower level of St. Lawrence Market Everyday Gourmet is a weekly Saturday morning tradition. Without a doubt the best cup of coffee in the market this family run joint has been a part of the St. Lawrence community since 1979. Cluttered but functional, this space operates as both a java to-go pit-stop and a retail space. Glass apothecary jars showcase yummy snacks while the aroma of custom blend beans tempts your senses.

St. Lawrence market was part of the initial market block appointed back in the early 1800’s by the city. It wasn’t until 1901 that the market witnessed its first major facelift in over 100 years, gaining a new roof and copula. It became known at this time as “Siddall’s Shed” after its architect John William Siddall. By the early 70’s its future was looking dim and destined to demolition until a bunch of Torontonians pulled together and petitioned for its preservation. By the late 70’s after 4 years of renovations the space reopened to the public. Since this time the market has become a mainstay for foodies and a beloved historical space in Toronto.

1. Manic Coffee @ 426 College

This is my number one as it’s my first cafe hangout, in my first neighbourhood when I first moved into the city. Discreetly set into the block on the north east side of College this jem brings together everything a coffee drinker needs in a cafe. Oversized windows for people watching up front, a variety of seating to accommodate various lounging activities and lots of fun things on the walls to check-out over a cuppa. Typical exposed brick is broken up with creamy panels of drywall while medium-dark hardwood floors run the length of the space. A track of overhead lights runs through the cafe creating s bright yet laid back feel. Whether catching up with a good friend or book, this space is where I could lose a couple hours of my day without a worry.



It’s on this note with a healthy dose of caffeine pumping through my system that I say welcome and thank you for reading the first of many to come Sunday Morning Designer posts.