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The term sanguine is the latin for bloodline, but in English, the word means “optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation”.

I grew up in a different family dynamic than most. In my house it wasn’t parents vs. Child. We were all equal.  We all grew up with different roots and backgrounds and our relationships repelled and suffered because of it. As I grew older, we began to find balance in the grace of understanding that no matter what, we are family. This is our story. Independent from each other, but still one in the same. My chair revolves around the difficulty of knowing we are all products of our past, but through positivity, understanding and grace of our individual pasts, we allow ourselves to be stronger as a unit.

Three separate entities, one strength.

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explanation of design principles

The design and materials I used in this chair represent the way our family portrayed ourselves to the outside world. Polished, clean, strong, unbreakable. While also representing what it felt like, on occasion, to actually be a part of the family. Sometimes cold. Sometimes uncomfortable. 

This chair is not meant for comfort. It’s meant for stability. It’s what you need from a chair, but not what you want. It’s heavy. It’s a lot to handle. But, it’s strong. It’s powerful. And it can withstand the weights of the world. 

The wood spine of the chair serves to show my fluid relationship with both individual parents. The material represents how my parents truly wanted to treat me. With warmth and support. And they did, just in their own way. A way that I didn’t quite understand growing up. 

The two marble sides represent my mother and my father. Two entities that are very separate, but kept together because of me. My parents marriage was something that had its fair set of issues, but these issues were kept a secret from the outside world. The exterior of their relationship looked very polished and clean. But when you looked deeper, you would realize it was cold to the touch, and the interior was very dense and heavy. 

The gold layer serves as a barrier as well as an adhesive. As a family, the main thing that pushed us apart, but also kept us together was our upbringing - the events from all of our pasts that molded us and shaped who we are and explain the reason we act certain ways. It is the layer that allows us to understand each other. Gold is one of the least reactive metals, therefore I ironically selected this material to be a sort of cushion layer between my me and my parents. A layer that represents the ideal of “what pushes us away, keeps us together”.

The chair stands strong alone because of its three important, unique elements. My mother. My father. And myself.