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MANUFACTURING A DESIGNER CHAIR FOR EXHIBITION IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE
The Manufacturer
Jonathan Haddock, Member of the EPS Packaging Group
“Tom Dixon came to the EPS Packaging Group with a whole range of concepts that he was interested in designing in EPS. We looked at the feasibility of several of his ideas, looking at the manufacturability, cost and the time available.
“In the end, we agreed on a stunning designer EPS chair. Making 500 of these chairs met Tom’s requirements for a high impact event bringing design directly to the public in the middle of Trafalgar Square. For the EPS Packaging Group, it was a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the general public that EPS can be used in a variety of applications, not just packaging for your fridge or TV.
“For the EPS industry this comes as no surprise, we are already using EPS in construction, automotive, air conditioning components and child car seats — to name a few of the sectors. However, many people were astonished to sit in a comfortable chair made from moulded EPS.
“So, although the EPS industry is not used to working with an artistic designer like Tom Dixon, it is certainly used to developing bespoke designs based on design concepts. In fact, that is what we all do every day and our EPS Group members are comfortable and confident doing it.
“We took Tom Dixon through a process that any designer who comes to us with a new concept would go through. We examine the idea; then we create a CAD design that looks at its cost, functionality and manufacturability. We produce a CNC prototype, specify and order the tooling and deliver the final products on the right day and — having gone through that process — we can guarantee the final product is always right first time.
“The EPS Packaging Group is delighted with the results of the venture with Tom Dixon; it gave us the opportunity to showcase EPS, in a very unexpected product, at a high profile public event.
“Tom was able to fulfil an ambition to make design available to all, the chairs he designed in EPS were given away free on 21 September 2006 in Trafalgar Square. It was great to see hundreds of people queuing up to get their free EPS chair and then carry them away on their heads, because they are so lightweight!
I know that Tom Dixon was as pleased with the event as we all were."
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