Sometimes a design is well known, but only few people know its history. Look at the Bear chair. A chair that’s very popular. It’s made in Ontario, Canada, by the The Bear Chair Company Limited. But the Bear chair is not the original, it was based on the classic Adirondack chair or Muskoka chair. The precursor to today’s Adirondack chair was designed by Thomas Lee in 1903. He was on vacation in Westport, New York, in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, and needed outdoor chairs for his summer home. The original Adirondack chair was made with eleven pieces of wood, cut from a single board, with a straight back and seat. It also featured wide armrests, which became a hallmark of the Adirondack chair. Later, Italian Gino Levi-Montalcini created a design of teak more similar to the Westport chair. Thomas Lee, the original Adirondack Chair inventor, spent time in Italy four years prior to the 1927 Italian chair.

Photos © Anne Rast

So you see that there is quite a bit of history to the design of a chair so well known. And now I came across a new different version of the Adirondack chair by Anne Rast. As you may have guessed an upcycle version. And I don’t mean it in a negative way. No, it’s a brilliant idea with a beautiful look. Anne Rast began collecting the skis that she found at the landfill. The chairs are made by her company Adirondack Ski Chairs of Lake Placid. Their aim is to give every ski a chance to infinitely live in glory, and to give avid skiers a unique piece of functional art they can enjoy year round. They take pride in quality workmanship, and the ability to provide an affordable, hand-crafted American-made product to those seeking a unique gift or home accent. Take a look at some great chairs that have been sold. Next to the original chair there’s a folding version.

Design by Anne Rast | Adirondack Ski Chairs of Lake Placid