From top left: “Furniture” by Joan Busquets I Jane; Seating, Osoram by Konstantin Grcic; lamp by Hector Guimard; Tsubomi by Leif.designpark. Second row: side tables by Warren Platner for Knoll; table by Carlo Bugatti; etagere by Louis Marjorelle; Armchair MT1 by Ron Arad. Third row: Cobra chair by Bugatti; Crochet chair by Marcel Wanders for Droog; patterned sofa by Wanders; “bench” by Guimard.

This is a short pictorial of furniture and furniture designers I love covering more than a one hundred year span of time. The formal elements I appreciate in all of these are line, form, positive/negative space and pattern. I draw influence from contemporary and Modern furniture design just as readily as I do from the Art Nouveau era.

I call this series “Corset” (image far left), but it has become more like a small piece of furniture in my mind. The second image is a collage from my sketchbook and how I meld a variety of influences—in this case, Couture clothing and pattern and a bombé chest—into an idea for a ceramic (my design material) vessel.