Why Terence Conran loves the Karuselli chair

Almost three years ago I was invited along to the launch of the Conran Classics collection, a series of 54 (later became 63) products which the Conran family added to a hall of fame forever.

An interesting discovery of the collection was reading about Terence Conran’s favourite piece, the Karuselli chair designed by Yrjö Kukkapuro in 1964, a Swinging Sixties chair if there ever was one, in fact the manufacturer Avarte refer to the chair as ‘Swiveling and swinging Loungechair’.

In the collection booklet, Stephen Bayley wrote:
“After a pleasant lifetime of after-dinner experimentation with a glass of marc de Bourgogne in one hand and a Hoyo de Monterrey in the other, this has become Terence Conran’s personal favourite chair. Kukkapuro is one of Finland’s leading designers, although – while pleasingly ergonomic – this chair was not so much the product of research as the result of playing in the snow with his daughter, Isa. The snow chairs they made were so inspiring, he went to his workshop atelier to create something similar out of ‘real materials’. While elegantly austere, the chair is superlatively comfortable. A sticker beneath the seat will say: ‘Avarte. Made in Finland, designed by Yrjö Kukkapuro’.”

Image © Fears and Kahn

Born in 1933, the Finnish furniture designer Yrjö Kukkapuro is a central figure of Finnish functionalism. Kukkapuro has been working as a freelance designer since the 1950s and much of the furniture he designed at the beginning of his career is still in production.

“Does it make any sense to design a chair which is not good to sit on?” says Kukkapuro. He studied at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki and has been influenced substantially by his teachers Ilmari Tapiovaara, Werner West, Runar Enblom und Olli Borg.

In 1958 he founded his own studio in Helsinki and after creating groundbreaking designs like the Karuselli lounge chair, Kukkapuro was offered a role teaching. In his role as Art Director of Finnish manufacturer Avarte he influenced the product portfolio substantially and created an unique corporate design and identity.

During his career Kukkapuro has been awarded many prizes including the Lunning Prize in 1966, the 1st Prize at the International Chair Design Competition in 1972 and the Kaj Franck Design Prize in 1995. His pieces are part of the permanent collections in museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the MoMA in New York and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.

Designer: Yrjö Kukkapuro
Manufacturer: Avarte
Year: 1964
Price: £4,080