Tom Dixon and Morag Myerscough among names to reimagine 19 chairs made in quarantine

Brothers Tom and Will Butterfield designed a chair-a-day for 19 days during the Covid-19 lockdown, which they plan to pass on to established creatives for them to put their own spin on.

Initiated as "a celebration of one of the most humble pieces of furniture", the duo's 19 Chairs project saw them design and build 19 unique chairs from 27-by 27-millimetre square-section timber and 40-millimetre wood screws.

The chairs have purposely been left bare to serve as a "blank canvas" for the chosen 19 designers to unleash their creativity onto.

Met with more time on their hands due to the coronavirus quarantine restrictions, the brothers, who work in graphic design and product design, made each of the chairs by hand over 19 days from a workshop at the end of their garden.

"As the world adjusts to a new and improved way of living, 19 Chairs is a celebration of two things that won't change; creativity and the humble chair," Tom told Dezeen.

"When all seems damaged, 19 Chairs birthed to make something good out of a global pandemic, Covid-19," he added. "Using our combined skills it has been important to respond to the current climate and find new ways to stay creative at home."

Having completed what the brothers refer to as "stage one" of the process, stage two will see them deliver the chairs to 19 different artists and designers with the challenge of revamping them in any way they wish, but with an older person in mind.

This brief was given to bring the project full circle, as the overhauled chairs will be sold and 50 per cent of all profits will be donated to the Age UK charity.

"This gave our collaborators some initial structure and guidance without being too restrictive," said the duo. "It was important that there was scope for creative freedom to ensure 19 different outcomes."

Ten creatives have already signed up for the challenge, including British designer Tom Dixon, graphic artist Morag Myerscough, sculptor Wilfrid Wood, and artist Max Siedentopf.

Other names include hat designer Emma Brewin, artist Helmut Smits, James Shaw, Antony Williams, Henry Gorse and Harry Grundy.

"Tom and I had so much fun designing and making all 19 Chairs, we wanted to spread the project far and wide for other creatives to get involved and enjoy this unique time as much as we had, hence the launch of 'stage two'," Will told Dezeen.

The brothers used 3D-modelling techniques to map out the design of each chair before crafting it, to ensure each one looked different to the next.

They ended up designing over 50 chairs before cutting down to the final chosen 19.

"Lockdown has meant that a lot of businesses have had to close, so it was important that we used easily sourced materials," Tom explained.

"Using 27 millimetre-square section timber and wood screws initially seemed restricting, however the results prove that by using just the bare essentials it is possible to create a unified collection," he added.

"The making process was quite simple," Tom and Will continued. "Using few basic materials and common tools all 19 chairs can be made by anyone, in any home."

Using a chop-saw, the designers would cut each length of wood ready for assembly. As they were using 27 millimetre-square section timber, they explained that every measurement had to be a multiple of 27, making it easy to locate where each piece fitted together.

"The most challenging part was having to learn my 27 times table! It was very much like assembling a 3D puzzle," said Tom.

While 50 per cent of profits will go to Age UK, the other half will be donated to Resourcing Racial Justice – an organisation of people of colour (POC) innovators and activists dedicated to social change – in light of the current Black Lives Matter protests.

The Butterfield brothers are still looking for nine more artists and designers to redesign the remaining chairs, and are encouraging any creatives interested in getting involved to contact them via email, which can be found on their website.

Other designers making the most of their time while in lockdown include Freyja Sewell, who created eight decorative face masks from commonplace objects found in her house, including yoghurt pots and a pool table triangle.

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