Master designers like Corbusier and Van Der Rohe were already designing way ahead of their time in the 20s.  Tubular metal was a gateway to efficient use of materials, trading the weighty solid oak of the so-called golden age.  Out of the residual war efforts came an abundance of steel and with it sophisticated forms of manufacturing.  Spitfire steel was repurposed for school chairs, and to save save save, save on freight, save on materials, save on impact, tubular metal was birthed.  At a tenth of the weight of its solid counterpart it perfectly blended with the industrial age of capitalism, metaphysically converting war efforts into consumables. 

The raw steel was chromated and the likes of LC2, Bibendum, EC27, and Arkana were born out of the high polish metal shine of the art deco.  Tubular metal informed flat pack furniture, and laid the way for composite plastic and particleboard and IKEA.  But it wasn’t until the 60s, 70s and 80s when colour tv informed our paradigm that powder coating began, and the artificial red and blues of the consumer flag waved in an era of colour.

The 2000s thoroughly fucked that up with its rococo baroque, ‘anything goes’ style, a mash of every historical period of design united by affordability.  Excuses to humour poorly educated taste fell under the nomenclature ‘shabby chic’, ‘Boho’, and eclectic, while technology convinced us we were fully evolved now that we have DVDs.  Thirty years from now I wonder if the 2000s will have the same chic nostalgia we instill in the 1970s?

Design cycles these days move like a cat's metabolism, 18 months and “We’re having the kitchen redone”.  Fad and style sometimes match up, (even a broken clock is right twice a day), but the resurgence of tubular metal in vintage designs and contemporary alike is an acknowledgement of good design.  

Tubular metal can be chromium plated, powder coated, chunky, skinny, super skinny, contemporary, retro, Industrial, art deco, timeless, 80s, it can be Gammelgaard, Pieff, Grey, Streamline, Jacobsen, Corbusier, and it can be stylish, fun and a nod to your design savvy.  Check out some of the best pieces we’ve found sourcing at: SHOPada