Design
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5 min read
Eleven drawings for one rocking chair
How we tuned the runners of the Swell chair until one swing lasted about as long as a slow breath.
Where the rock comes from
A rocking chair is really two curves on the floor. Make them too round and the chair pitches you forward; too flat and it barely moves. We drew the Swell runners eleven times, cut each one in pine and sat in it for a week before drawing the next.
One breath per swing
The curve we kept has a long, almost flat middle and a gentle lift at each end. Pushed lightly, the chair travels back and returns in about four seconds, roughly the length of a slow breath. It settles quietly instead of tipping.
Bent, not cut
Each runner is laminated from thin strips of white oak, glued and pressed over a form, so the grain follows the curve all the way round. That makes it stronger than a runner cut from a solid board, and it is why the edges can stay this soft.
