&Tradition & Sami Kallio’s In Between Chair: Upholstered

The first wooden chair in &Tradition’s lineup, Sami Kallio’s head-turning In Between, gets a variation with an upholstered seat for additional comfort without compromising the chair’s light and elegant expression. Helsinki-born Sam’s design reflects its perfect balance between methods of manufacturing, design and aesthetics. It’s produced by way of hand and machine. There is the wood turning, a classic technique using a lathe for greater detail. Compression molding is also applied, allowing for strength despite the lightness of the thin frame. It’s no accident that ash and oak, which Sam uses for this chair, respond very well to these techniques. Dynamically angled legs provide balance and equilibrium of form to the low-swung, crescent back, the armrest and very slightly pitched seat pan. The back and side panels offer solid support and a visual interplay of positive and negative space that further illustrates the In Between notion.

If the semicircular rail brings to mind that 1949 Danish icon the Wishbone Chair (a.k.a. the Y Chair), Sam freely admits his regard for designer master Hans Wegner. Yet Sam also pushes his In Between forward with a more graphic, modular and lighter form.

In Between is part of the “Between Gaps” series by this award-winning designer, who is now based in in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is produced by &Tradition in Copenhagen.

• Size:  30″ h x 23″ w x 21″ d (76x58x53cm), Seat height: 17″ (45cm)