Page 70 - Tsubomi

We found a lot of bonding and conversation happen when people sit down together and the culture of low seating exists both in Thailand & Japan.
The impression from the lifestyle of Lanna community that people will always sit in a circle to make basketry works and talk to each other causes the rigid relationship in the community. Inspired by bamboos that is woven together and creates a basket with strong structure, Kairi and Michelle designed a chair named “Close Knit”, the work that reflects a combination of original localization and contemporary characteristic.
After making the models of chairs in different shapes, the design summary was finalized at the modification of chair shape to support the human body by applying the model from original farmer’s hat made of bamboo and palm leaves shaped like an inverted basin used by Sakor Karens living in Phra Bat Huai Tom Community, Lamphun Province. Its top is sharp and the front end is short covering the forehead while the back end covers the back body of the users.
Additionally, it is the combination of originality and contemporary. “Close Knit” is also the blending of natural material like bamboo and industrial material like coated steel, which are delicately welded by threads. It is also padded by cushion made of cotton mixed with hemp fabrics, providing the nature feel when touching the user’s skin. Furthermore, when designing the chair, Kairi and Michelle also considered the future work of local craftsmen by opening the opportunities for craftsmen to blend different natural materials in the work and can produce chairs as the industry generating sustainable income. It is considered that apart from showing the rigid bonding of local community through handicraft, it also shows the “bonding development” between the originality and modernization, and between local handicraft and industrial work.
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