The Olli Lounger: Slow Design for the Modern World - Remodelista
SF-based New Zealander Joanne Zorkendorfer spent almost a decade working as an industrial designer at the prestigious design firm Ideo before branching off on her own. “I visited village craftspeople and saw that the way their work was being presented was not going to captivate a larger audience–it wasn’t up to date. So I started thinking about ways to change that.” Her solution? Olli’s one-of-a-kind, oversized lounger is a simple design that Zorkendorfer uses as a blank canvas for embroideries. The Lounger in navy; $3,400. Zorkendorfer spent two years researching the ideal filling: “I was obsessed with finding filling other than polystyrene beads... ...and I wanted that sexy, voluptuous feel you get in a beanbag.” She prototyped many options, including foam (too bouncy), recycled foam (too flat), all feathers (not substantial enough), wool, felt, coffee beans, and recycled scrap materials. The Lounger in kelly green; $3,400. The seller, a textile historian, put her in touch with an embroidery collective of women in Tenango, Mexico. The traditional motifs are sketched freehand onto the fabric by the Otomi women, then the pattern is hand “¨embroidered in cotton thread. Zorkendorfer quickly learned that patience is required, and has had to set up her production schedule accordingly. “It has required a little bit of unlearning and being respectful of the artisans’ pace and sense of time”. The Lounger in terracotta, $3,400. The base of each lounger is made from leather and has a large brass zipper separating the fabric cover from the leather to allow for cleaning. Zorkendorfer also sells Cushions with the same embroidery as the loungers for $275 each. Zorkendorfer shares a studio in the Heath Factory with a fellow slow designer, weaver Adelle Stafford of Voices of Industry, whose work is featured in our post Farm-to-Table Textiles. Read about him in our Studio Visit: Small Trade Company Gets Big.