At IDS: Colmio, Rock On

There are times in life when we just want to curl up in chair and forget our sorrows. Who doesn't like a little wallowing after an excruciating break up, a rant about soul-sucking corporate life or an occasional existential crisis? Many of us will never abandon our quest for societal ascension, so in the mean time we have the little things to keep us sane. For me, the family rocking chair has always helped to ease my troubles. In just a few hours of gentle rocking, immediate worries become distant dreams (or nightmares) and my energy, once sapped, are gradually restored.

Woodpecker Chair. By Colmio Designs.

Hence when I found out that Colmio are exhibiting at the IDS 09, I had to cover them on 3rings. Colmio Designs specializes in houseware items and is also behind some of the most innovative rocking chairs, I have ever seen. Established in Oulu, Finland in 2003, the company focuses on rocking products like chairs, tables, coat racks and even slippers. The emphasis on structure is important and I find it praiseworthy how Colmio continues to play with a palette of ideas that revolves around creating "rocking" furniture.

At IDS: Colmio, Rock On

The Woodpecker Chair. By Colmio Designs.

The Woodpecker Chair, an "all purpose rocking chair", is a pioneer of sorts. Apart from serving as the first ever rocking chair from Colmio, it also features the now signature triangle design with curved sides. The chair with its one-off modern design can sit pretty anywhere – be it in hotel rooms, waiting areas, PR facilities, libraries, hospitals, student apartments – even in my own humble abode.

At IDS: Colmio, Rock On

The Grasshopper Rocking Chair. By Colmio Designs.

Unlike the Woodpecker Chair, the Grasshopper chair doesn't adhere to the traditional rocking chair principle. What makes it stand apart from the clique, is its elongated back rest and adjustable neck and of course the rocking, leaf-like, fabric-covered ottoman. The frame has been made of bent natural-colour birch and can be ordered in a variety of shades.

It's interesting to witness how the universally acceptable rocking chair has become so modish and even a tad irreverent. A Colmio chair not only forges a bond with its sitter but also brings in a welcome sense of experimentation and minimalism to the proverbial rocking chair.

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