Hanging Ten Again
by Cathy Curtis
One Friday in the summer of 1957, 19-year-old John Caldwell made a lucky phone call that vaulted him into the forward-looking design world of Charles and Ray Eames and Harry Bertoia.
Caldwell’s student life in laid-back Pasadena revolved around surf and hot-rod culture, but he also had an unusual hobby: drawing furniture. Aware of the long hours the youth spent at his homemade drafting table, a friend’s mother had urged him to call Margaret Nowell, sales manager at Brown Jordan, a long-established furniture company on Green Street.
Nowell asked him if he had any designs for outdoor furniture.
“Oh yes,” he lied. Well, he’d been doing a few sketches.
Could he bring them in on Monday?
Caldwell, now a genial, award-winning designer based in South Pasadena, recalls how he spent the whole weekend using copper wire and upholstery twine to craft table-top models based on the elliptical contour of his beloved surfboard. One was a patio chaise. Another was a high-backed chair that daringly rested on only three legs.
The following Monday, the fresh, contemporary look of these pieces created a small sensation at the furniture factory. When Bob Brown worried aloud about whether the chair was strong enough to sit on, Caldwell explained how a “strongback” — a hot-rod component — could serve as a brace.
But how to coax the metal into that breezy curve? Caldwell strolled down the street to Brown Jordan’s prototype shop and drew the magic outline on a sheet of wrapping paper. The guys went to work, and a new line of outdoor furniture was born.
Then the good vibes ran out. Dubbed “Mai-tai” after the sweet cocktail, the line didn’t sell. The chaise couldn’t be raised or lowered. Anyone leaning back in the chair risked a wipe-out.
But times do change. The current craze for ‘50s-era furniture prompted the proprietors of Los Angeles retail store Outside to ask Caldwell to revive his youthful creations.
The designer, whose South Pasadena studio specializes in upscale casual furniture designs, made a few key changes for the relaunch. The chair now has a fourth leg and a reinforced back. The chaise is adjustable and has boomerang-shaped arm-and-leg components that offer further stability. Originally offered only in white webbing with a gunmetal frame, the pieces will come in an array of color combos.
Renamed “Bardot” (“to evoke the ’60s va-va-voom spirit,” says Outside co-owner Kathy Gulid), the line has kept its cool. Even if East Coast visitors to the shop insist on seeing that buoyant ellipse as a giant snowshoe.
by Cathy Curtis
One Friday in the summer of 1957, 19-year-old John Caldwell made a lucky phone call that vaulted him into the forward-looking design world of Charles and Ray Eames and Harry Bertoia.
Caldwell’s student life in laid-back Pasadena revolved around surf and hot-rod culture, but he also had an unusual hobby: drawing furniture. Aware of the long hours the youth spent at his homemade drafting table, a friend’s mother had urged him to call Margaret Nowell, sales manager at Brown Jordan, a long-established furniture company on Green Street.
Nowell asked him if he had any designs for outdoor furniture.
“Oh yes,” he lied. Well, he’d been doing a few sketches.
Could he bring them in on Monday?
Caldwell, now a genial, award-winning designer based in South Pasadena, recalls how he spent the whole weekend using copper wire and upholstery twine to craft table-top models based on the elliptical contour of his beloved surfboard. One was a patio chaise. Another was a high-backed chair that daringly rested on only three legs.
The following Monday, the fresh, contemporary look of these pieces created a small sensation at the furniture factory. When Bob Brown worried aloud about whether the chair was strong enough to sit on, Caldwell explained how a “strongback” — a hot-rod component — could serve as a brace.
But how to coax the metal into that breezy curve? Caldwell strolled down the street to Brown Jordan’s prototype shop and drew the magic outline on a sheet of wrapping paper. The guys went to work, and a new line of outdoor furniture was born.
Then the good vibes ran out. Dubbed “Mai-tai” after the sweet cocktail, the line didn’t sell. The chaise couldn’t be raised or lowered. Anyone leaning back in the chair risked a wipe-out.
But times do change. The current craze for ‘50s-era furniture prompted the proprietors of Los Angeles retail store Outside to ask Caldwell to revive his youthful creations.
The designer, whose South Pasadena studio specializes in upscale casual furniture designs, made a few key changes for the relaunch. The chair now has a fourth leg and a reinforced back. The chaise is adjustable and has boomerang-shaped arm-and-leg components that offer further stability. Originally offered only in white webbing with a gunmetal frame, the pieces will come in an array of color combos.
Renamed “Bardot” (“to evoke the ’60s va-va-voom spirit,” says Outside co-owner Kathy Gulid), the line has kept its cool. Even if East Coast visitors to the shop insist on seeing that buoyant ellipse as a giant snowshoe.
project
Los Angeles Times Magazine article
Los Angeles Times Magazine article