Dezeen promotion: Czech furniture brand TON presents upholstered chairs based on the shapes of leaves, created by Italian designer Alexander Gufler, during Milan design week next month.
Alba – named after an Italian town in the Piedmont region known for its production of truffles – is one of four new designs that TON will launch in Milan next month.
The collection is made up of a chair, armchair and lounge armchair, all shaped to resemble curled leaves.
The seats come upholstered in three new materials – Elmo leather, a merino wool called Lowlands and geometric Walker fabric.
All Alba chairs feature seats made using pocket springs and foam. This allows them to adapt to the shape of the body, helping to provide comfortable seating for several hours at a time.
The chair is available with either oak or beech frames. The beech frames come in a variety of colour options.
These solid wood frames and legs are created using manual wood-bending technologies, which have been utilised by the brand since 1861, and featured on its iconic No 14 chair.
This bending process involves steaming the wood in special vats for long periods, before placing it into metal forms.
A flange is then attached to place pressure on the wood, shaping it into the mould as it cools. Bent sections are afterwards dried for several weeks, before being finished with oil, stain or lacquer.
The Alba's versatile design, combined with multiple customisation options, make it a suitable choice for the home, restaurants and hotels.
"As I am from Italy, I naturally seek fine food, drink, and renowned restaurants.It is exactly this atmosphere and philosophy that inspired me to design this collection," explained designer Alexander Gufler.
"Because you want to savour good food in a good restaurant undisturbed, the development of this collection put great emphasis on comfort."
The Alba chairs, alongside TON's new hand-made Fleur coat stand, Merano armchair and Lasa table, will make their debut at the Salone del Mobile 2017, which forms part of Milan design week.
Visitors will able to find the products at Hall 12, stand B03/C04, from 4 to 9 April 2017.
Find out more about TON's product range via their website.