Land+Living: Sugar

Furniture — June 8, 2005 Posted by Anthony

Poor man's La-z-boy

Last month, we learned about Adriean Koleric's Edith Mailbox and liked its style. We decided to check back in and see what was up with the site and went looking for any new product updates/info. The site is still under construction but the background image caught our attention. Being the curious blokes that we are, we fired off an email to Adrien to get the scoop on the new design. Here's what we heard back:

"The piece you're asking about is called 'SUGAR'. It's an adjustable lounger that's upholstered in vinyl over 3" foam. The yellow/orange band in the middle has a textured finish like scales on a fish, the white is a typical smooth texture. The pipe in the back acts as a support which fits into either of the 2 openings to create a laid back setting or more of an upright. I sometimes refer to it as a 'poor mans la-z-boy'. The pipe itself is pvc wrapped in vinyl as well. I also use it as a magazine holder."

Along with the updated website, Adriean will be adding a few more pieces to I T E M's product lineup in the coming weeks so keep an eye out for them. We certainly will.

Link: I T E M
Related: Edit Mailbox (L+L)

10 comments

Comments (10)

hijiki — June 9, 2005
nospam@mail.com

i had a chair very similar to this when i was growing up. it was amazingly comfy for about 30 minutes before it slowly became unbearable. this version may be more ergonomic, but i think it was because you just need more room to move around in your seat and it kind of forces you into a back-straining slouch. it's really too bad it's made from toxic materials.

keets — June 9, 2005

Toxic materials....I don't think this chair was meant to be burnt.

anon — June 9, 2005
pvc is bad

from cectoxic(dot)home(dot)igc(dot)org/dioxin(dot)html "PVC - the Poison Plastic PVC is the worst plastic from an environmental health perspective, posing major hazards in its manufacture, product life and disposal. Dioxin (the most potent carcinogen known), ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride are unavoidably created in production of PVC and can cause severe health problems, including cancer, endocrine disruption, endometriosis, birth defects, and many more problems. As a persistent bioaccumulative toxin (PBT), dioxin does not break down rapidly and travels around the globe, accumulating in fatty tissue and concentrating as it goes up the food chain. Dioxins from Louisiana manufacturing plants migrate on the winds and concentrate in Great Lakes fish. Most poignantly, dioxins concentrate in breast milk to the point that human infants now receive high doses, orders of magnitude greater than those of the average adult. PVC is useless without the addition of a plethora of toxic chemical stabilizers - such as lead, cadmium and organotins - and phthalate plasticizers, which may leach, flake or outgas from PVC over time, raising risks that include asthma, lead poisoning and cancer."

Adriean — June 9, 2005

I appreciate the comments and apologize for the use of the pvc material. At the time of developing this prototype I was scrambling for a cylinder support of some kind and came accross some scrap pipes that I was able to recycle. If there are suggestions for alternate / enviro-friendly materials that would be more suitable, let me know. I'm open for input of any kind.

owen3 — June 9, 2005
Give me a break

Besides being made from the most toxic material on the planet, it is an ugly chair. It looks like it was removed from the front seat of a van. Its fat and ugly. I can't believe this is posted in this site....

Marcus — June 9, 2005
Pimp my crib, foo

I think the Sugar is kinda cool and would go well with some of the other products and interior themes that have been featured on this site. This chair would flow quite well with wallpaper from Timorous Beasties or Flavor Paper. One man's fat and ugly is another man's centerfold. Don't be hatin, foo.

swish — June 9, 2005
Flavor Indeed

I checked out the 'Flavor Paper' site. I totally agree this would sit well with their wallpaper. Especially the 'Cycloid' line in orange. Dumb comments are easy to toss out. I'd rather think before I speak. Nice piece.

Anonymous — June 9, 2005

"If there are suggestions for alternate / enviro-friendly materials that would be more suitable, let me know. I'm open for input of any kind." Try leather.

shaun — June 9, 2005
NOT LEATHER.

hey anonymous, he is not looking for an alternative covering material... he is looking for the cylinder material. i like the form of the chair and the craft looks well executed.

frau — June 20, 2007
pvc substitute

think you've got various other options, don't know how cost effective it'll be, but I'm sure with further research you can reach to an informative point. your options are: metal, acrylic, rubber (that's all I could think of so far) I'd imagine, most of them needs to be custom-made of some kind, or molded to your spec. With the acrylic, I'm imagine you'd not want it too thin or not even hollow on the inside from durability perspective. The same with rubber, having it a solid all the way through will give it substance in taking the weight of the chair and whoever sits on it. Rubber might be the best option actually. But whatever rocks your boat really ;).