The Beginning of #1696Originals - Pin Ya & Pin Le
The two frontrunners of Original Designs that we are proud of -- the Rattan pair of Pin Ya Lounge Chair and Pin Le Dining Chair
Ideation
The journey of these two designs started out with our usual creative process at 16’96--the mood board. When we started thinking about elements we wanted in our originals; Classic Modern and Sleek came to mind. We wanted our chairs to channel Burmese vibes, but also to be contemporary and chic.
This is where Rattan came in. Burmese people decorate their interiors with rattan-weaved coffee trays, dividers, containers because it brings in warmth and hand-crafted feelings to a space. So Rattan was put on our mood board and moved onto design conceptualisation.
Our very first try at the drawing board
Designing
Headlining rattan as the hero material gave us a clear direction.
We started with research on typical styles of Burmese Colonial Furniture where curvature played an important role. Our initial designs were quite traditional and weren't speaking 16’96. They were not enough to captivate Millennials and Gen Z yet.
The previous mood board was abandoned, and we started again with a clean slate. Narrowing our focus on the essentials -- rattan and curved silhouettes -- we tinkered with ways on how we modernize a simple chair. During this process, we asked ourselves many questions. Usually, the armrest is stretched until it meets the backrest, but when people are lounging, their arms land only on the front 60%. Is the full armrest necessary? How do we add curvature without making the chairs look traditional? Wooden chairs are notorious for too rigid for comfort despite its ability to add warm and classy touch to any space. Is it possible to design an ergonomic solid wood chair for comfortable dining experience?
The Edit
Trying to answer those questions, the chairs’ silhouettes began to form.
We removed parallel curvature of headrest in Pin Ya lounge chair and decided to keep the floating armrest as the main modern touch of this sleek rattan chair. The backrest is doubly-weaved for extra stylishness.
For Pin Le dining chair also, we made the rattan to be doubly-weaved over the frame for a unique design touch. The ergonomic angle and thick upholstery were incorporated to Pin Le since dining chairs are usually straight and uncomfortable.
The twins, Pin Ya and Pin Le, were made to showcase how rattan chairs can be simple, minimal, yet effortlessly classic and modern.
