THE OVAL ROCKER
I was scrolling through my instagram feed, when I paused on an image of a chair—unlike any I had ever seen. Andrew's creation stood out, not just for its aesthetic appeal but for the sheer ingenuity of its design. It was ergonomic, but what truly caught my attention was its DIY essence, a chair crafted with intent and inspiration from ply wood. As I delved deeper into the story behind this piece, my intrigue grew. It wasn't merely a chair, but a canvas showcasing Andrew's respect for iconic designs and his love for sustainable materials. From its conception inspired by Tom Sachs' Shop Lounge chair to the influences from legendary designers such as Pierre Jeanneret, this chair bore witness to Andrew's journey into the world of furniture design. As you'll discover in the following interview, every slot, curve, and contour of this chair tells a tale, one that marries tradition with innovation.
KYLE MCKENZIE (KM): So, how did this concept come to be? Was it inspired by other chairs or something different altogether?
ANDREW DOXTATER (AD): I originally wanted to recreate Tom Sachs' Shop Lounge chair. But figuring out its proportions from pictures was tricky, so that got me thinking of my own designs. What I loved about the Shop Lounge was that it looked cool and was mainly made of plywood. I knew I wanted to design something with plywood too. Slot together furniture designs were at the top of my mind because they felt intuitive. I drew inspiration from various sources: Donald Judd’s chairs, Gustavo Barroso’s Billboard Chair, Matt Pecina’s Guapo Rocker, a lot of Rogan Gregory’s furniture, and maybe most importantly, Pierre Jeannette’s Kangaroo chair. For ergonomics, I took cues from the Kangaroo chair using online photos and measurements.
KM: Did you ever play with other materials, or was plywood always your go-to? And after pulling references, how did your process unfold? When did the idea really take shape?
AD: It started when a buddy of mine found some Knoll tulip chairs someone was selling. Fixing them up to resell, I got sucked into learning about Eero Saarinen and other mid-century designs. That process made me fall in love with furniture design, understanding how they work, the physics, materials, finishes, and all. Through that, I found a connection with Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier’s designs. This led me to re-create Le Corbusier’s concrete lamp and Pierre Jeanneret’s Office Chair, using a pallet I found in the trash. My initial idea was to keep re-creating iconic designs using found materials. This is how I came across Tom Sach’s Shop Lounge.
I always knew I wanted to use plywood. It's accessible, affordable, and easy to design with. Although I'd be keen on trying other materials, plywood just felt right. And, it looks beautiful. My design process started with a palm-sized cardboard cut-out to visualize it. Being a draftsman/designer by trade, using AutoCAD felt natural. My aim was for all the chair parts to come from one plywood sheet and have the same shape and size. After several cardboard models, I felt good about one design and made a full prototype. To my surprise, the prototype worked well. I made a TikTok video of the process and it blew up online, which I didn’t expect. The design hasn’t changed much since then.
KM: Do you have any early design models or sketches? By the way, your chair journey has inspired me.
AD: That's awesome to hear, man. I have some CAD file snippets. The first snippet is where the design started. There's an earlier version in the second snip which I wasn't too happy with. The third and fourth are about line weights and what the plans look like in CAD form.
KM: It's always amazing to see the 'making of'. Your process is truly intriguing. Like what if in the 50's/60s we could see Pierre Jeanneret's process via the internet/social media…
AD: I love seeing how other people work too, everyone does things differently, my co-workers and I all work in AutoCAD, on the same projects even sometimes, and even then I notice we have completely different workflows and I pickup new things all the time from that insight.
Lol I would die to see how someone like Pierre Jeanneret came up with ideas, the workflow, brainstorming all of that would be so inspiring. Really puts a human behind the object
KM: With the Oval Chair's success, do you have any other projects or designs in the pipeline that you're particularly excited about?
AD: Damn, I have so many ideas I want to start working on. Getting this project out the door took so much effort and focus. Im so proud of the work ive done with it, and at the same time im so excited to move forward on other projects. I teased a table im working on, I think im calling it “Brutal Table”, its a Japanese inspired table made completely out of steel with the focus being the reservoir in the middle. Its intended for Ikebana arrangements but it also acts as an incense holder, maybe thinner candles etc. Im still developing the design but the main idea exists and Im excited to bring that to life. Would love to work on lighting of some sorts as well, lamps/sconces
KM: On another note, how do you see the future of furniture design evolving, especially with the increased focus on sustainability and repurposing?
AD: Sustainability is a huge concern and is important in any design really. The Oval Rocker was designed with sustainability in mind, I wanted to use as much of a plywood sheet that made sense as to not have too much waste, and my intent with the packaging is to make it as sustainable as possible. I think furniture design is taking on a new life with the internet. My parents had their furniture bought for them, or it was handed down, but more and more I think my generation, and future generations, are more design focused and intent on curating their home to fit their personality and taste. And for designers we have a platform to showcase our work and talk about the process which didn't really exist 10-15 years ago. I would have never been able to get the word out about a chair design, let alone sell it to people, without the internet
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