Autumn/Winter 2022 Collaboration

For our A/W 2022 collection, we took a surrealist, playful, and dreamlike approach to design. As always, we looked to juxtapose the spontaneous and unexpected with the classic and elegant.

For two club chairs in this collection we partnered with Brooklyn-based artist, Michelle Mannix –we knew her deft use of bold colors would make these pieces pop. Michelle often uses found objects like salvaged pieces of wood and other repurposed materials as her canvas. She’s the ideal collaborator for Double R Design–we value her sustainable approach and her vibrant aesthetic.

Michelle’s gallery wall is shown below. This past September I visited Michelle in her studio and fell in love with her work. Her rapid, thick brushstrokes are electrifying and animated, just like her personality. I took my family to Michelle’s studio during Gowanus Open Studios and right away she had my son expressing himself through color, inspired by Michelle’s paintings.

Michelle painted the piece below using a coated canvas that is easy to manipulate; her regular canvases are much stiffer. We decided to cut the finished piece in half and use it on the backs of the two chairs. The negative space along the bottom emphasizes that this is indeed an artists’ canvas. The thick corduroy velvet from Maharam creates a soft and luscious contrast to the chairs’ graffitied backs. The deep green plays nicely off the yellow in the painting.

The result is two chairs that go beyond anything we’ve done before. Their loudness and exagerratedness somehow creates a distinct elegance. We wanted to be gutsy and grandiose and there was no better partner than Michelle Mannix to do so.

rachael@doublerdesign.net / 440-371-5846