Navy Chair Revival
A brief encounter with EMECO being featured on CNN this week , I chose to go back in time & re-admire this Classic American Design Icon. Popular as the Navy Chair , EMECO 1006 ( ten oh six ) is the classic aluminum chair produced by EMECO in Hanover,Pennsylvania US. Originally made for use in World War II for US Navy it surpassed the expectations in durability. Legend holds that the contours of the seat were inspired by pinup Betty Grable’s shapely derriere ! But it was unable to meet the growing needs for the civil market once the war was over.
However on a note of revival , EMECO chair is now enjoying its second innings as the quint essential retro chic chair , also considered as the classic American design icon. Though it looks like its been molded, no two EMECO chairs are the same , bearing the impressions of the skilled craftsmanship, being 80% recycled – feather weight & easily stack able chairs. Produced in the same fashion since 1944 , its a 2 week, 77-step process that involves twelve parts being welded together, then being ground to create a seamless one-piece look. A proprietary heat-treatment adds to the chair’s strength giving it life for 150 years !
Some of the famous modern collaboration of EMECO are with designers like Phillip Starck, Frank Gehry, & most recently with COKE where 111 Navy chair was produced from 111 (or more) recycled Coca-Cola bottles. Emeco and Coca-Cola hope to recycle some 3 million bottles annually to produce the chairs ! Weiden Kennedy did the global branding for their unique collaboration.
Watch the campaign > Made of Coke
