Wikiseat Project: Chair Design Journal Assignment #3 - Materials

by Sean Wheeler

As we've discussed in class, the Wikiseat project will require a good deal of ingenuity from you.  Perhaps the most essential question will center around materials.  What are you going to make your chair from?  How will you get these materials?  Is your plan realistic and achievable?

(Please do not simply answer the questions.  Give this some thought and give me your response to the whole issue of materials.

"My biggest problem doing this project is getting the materials to build it.  I have asked my family members and they said that they would be able to help me a bit with this problem. My grandpa said I can look around in his garage if needed. Hopefully I can find some metal to make the legs out of, really, anything but wood for the legs. As for the seat I was going to use wood, then drape some cloth over the wood so it won't be so hard. Lastly I'll need screws to hold the chair all together. I believe that my plan is realistic, but not easy to do." - Branden

"I would like my chair to fit comfortably for the sitter. I would like it to be cushiony nad relaxing. In order to fulfill my sitter's desire I think I want to use cotton, styrofoam, and anything else that I can maybe find for cheap. I hope these materials will make me a good chair so I may need help from a professional chair builder or someone close to it. I'm going to have to get my materials for cheap. I will search yard sales, garage sales, lawns, or from people that aren't using materials that I need. The plan that I imagine I feel like it may be realistic with a little help, but on my own I don't think I may be able to pull it off. But overall, my chair will come together and hopefully it's a success." - Jasmine

"My first major challenge in the making of my chair would be for me to figure out what my chair can be made of while also keeping the idea realistic and the cost at a medium range. I would like to build the frame of my chair out of wood then make my arm rest, backrest, and seat cushioned. I’d like to have a foot rest coming from the bottom of my seat that is retractable. It would stand on three wooded legs. I would like to make my seat reclineable so I would have to look into getting the piece that allows my chair to recline and also have to figure out if my wood frame will allow me to have a reclineable chair. My secondary problem would soon become getting these materials I would use pieces from the old chair we have in our basement and I would ebay the needed piece to make my chair recline.  Asking family members and friends, I believe, will take me a long way to achieving a medium cost range chair with the power to hold me up." - Jianna

"My chair will be somewhere cozy! Its gonna have fur! Its not gonna be from an animal or anything its gonna be just like one of those fake furs from the store or something! I will get the legs.  from Home Depot. Then for the cushion and the fur, probably Joann Fabrics. It's one of those stores where you can gets arts and crafts from. I think i will be able to do it. Right now it doesn't seem that hard but when I actually get working on it I hope it won't be too difficult. It shouldn't be! I think the hardest part for me will be getting the cushion to stay on and making sure the bottom isn't too wide and making sure the top is perfect! My fear for this project is cutting something wrong then having to redo the whole project again. But I know for a fact it's not gonna turn our perfect the first time. Wer'e suppost to screw up on our chair. It's how we learn!" - Morgan