Ron Arad furniture, Ron Arad chairs, Ron Arad profile

Career

Born in 1951 in Tel Aviv Israel, Ron Arad moved from Jerusalem, where he studied Art and Design for 2 years at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, to London in 1973 to study at the Architectural Association. Graduating in 1979 he began working in an architectural office but soon found he did not like working for other people. So in 1981 he set up his own company with Caroline Thorman called ‘One Off’ followed by the opening of a showroom in London’s Covent Garden in 1983. Ron Arad and Caroline Thorman are still in business together as Ron Arad Associates founded in 1989 and based at Chalk Farm, North London.

Ron Arad began making one off pieces of furniture with scrap yard finds. ‘The Rover Chair’ was made from welding a car seat from a Rover 200 with tubular scaffolding. Selling six chairs to fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier it went on to be a best seller and marked the start of Ron Arad’s Career as a furniture designer. Ron Arads Rover Chair enjoyed fame in 1988 under the derrière of Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of Top Gear. The show now uses look a like furniture using car seats from a Rolls Royce.

Ron Arad has gone on to produce a vast array of furniture designs thought his career. Producing one off commissioned pieces and limited editions, many of them selling at record prices. Ron Arad has also endeavoured to work with manufactures like Kartell, Vitra, Alessi, Flos and Driade to produce furniture for volume production, making good design more affordable.

Funky furniture designs available to buy include:

Bookworm bookshelf - Kartell

In 1993 he designed the Bookworm bookshelf for Kartell. A flexible wall mounted bookshelf that can be formed into various shapes to create a visually interesting feature within a room. The bookworm can make the most of even our most ordinary of possessions like CD’s, DVD’s and books or used to further compliment and display our most prized possessions. Bookworm bookshelf is a storage solution worth talking about.

Tom Vac chair - Vitra

Made for durability and comfort for both indoors and outdoors the Tom Vac Chair designed by Ron Arad and made by Vitra has gained the respect it deserves. This stackable chair is generously proportioned and currently available in five colours. What more could you want from this gorgeously funky chair.

MT1 Chair, MT2 Sofa and the MT3 Rocking Chair – Driade

Ron Arad’s ultra modern seating series for Driade are organic and sensual, functional and stylish. These funky chairs and sofas are made from a two tone polyethylene plastic moulded by rotation. Technologically innovative they are based on a chair Ron Arad designed eleven years ago called Empty, hence the name MT. Arads chair designs are great indoors and outdoors. Perfect for relaxing by the pool, sunbathing on the balcony or entertaining in the garden. The MT3 Rocking Chair is a popular computer gaming chair for the bachelor pad.

Screw Stool - Driade

The Screw Stool. We never thought we would describe a stool as breathtaking. Ron Arad’s screw stool design has surpassed all expectation and has set a very high bench mark indeed. (or should that be stool mark?) With a precision engineered rotation mechanism and the masculine aesthetics of the polished aluminium this really is the stool of stools. Ron Arads screw stool is pure genius and were all asking for a pay rise to get one!

Other Funky Furniture to buy include

• FPE Chair – Kartell
• Clover Chair – Driade
• Bad Tempered Chair – Vitra

Funky Accessories to buy include

• Babyboop – Alessi
• Babyboop Vase – Alessi
• Chiringuito Shaker – Alessi
• Freewheeler - Wireless Outdoor speaker – Viteo