“When I look back on this project, I feel so grateful since this is one of the iconic pieces I did when I first started working for Ralph Pucci.” Chris Lehrecke
In the world of design, it’s hard to predict what will someday be iconic. This daybed is still being produced today and is a great seller for both Ralph Pucci International and me.
My inspiration for the daybed came from my passion at that time for collecting African stools and furniture and modern Shaker and Scandinavian pieces. This look was a combination of two very different tendencies. It takes the chunky, rough African aesthetic and fuses it with the more refined Shaker and Scandinavian styles. The legs of the daybed have an African feel but are more refined, while the arm and headboard combination – and the way they speak to each other – very much represents my style.
Back in 1996, Ralph wasn’t selling furniture, with the exception of the Ecart line through Andrée Putman. Looking to expand the back space of his existing showroom, he asked Ruben Toledo, a mutual friend and rising star in the design world and illustrating community, if he knew any young and talented designers.
I already had a following of clients in the design community and had won the 1996 ECFF Editors Award for Furniture, so the timing was perfect. Ralph came to visit me in Brooklyn at my Bed-Stuy studio and we hit it off immediately. He offered me 4,000 square feet of display space in his penthouse showroom on 18th Street in Manhattan to show my furniture.
Collaborating with Ralph has worked well because he always lets artists do their thing. He is a great editor with a good vision and it’s always fun. I think this daybed design has endured for all these years because it is so versatile; it looks just as good against a wall as it does in the middle of a room.
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