Vern and Vinnie<\/strong> are a pair of dressers, the latest in a series of anthropomorphized furniture from Judson Beaumont<\/strong> and his company\u00a0Straight Line Designs<\/strong>. His designs, of course, aren’t straight at all, but a playful interpretation of form and function.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Vern and Vinnie<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vern and Vinnie were introduced at Interior Design West earlier this fall and in case you think Beaumont has lost his marbles, think again. Fun yes but a joke, no. Beaumont has been making eye-popping furniture for decades and people around the world pay good money to have one of his unique creations in their home. They collect them like other people collect sculpture. Beaumont calls his pieces\u00a0art furniture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/a>Vinnie’s Tattoo<\/strong><\/p>\n

His progression from the straight to the whimsical dates back to 1985 when Beaumont graduated from the\u00a0Emily Carr School of Art and Design\u00a0( now a university) and set up shop in an artists\u2019 collective in east Vancouver.\u00a0\u00a0He says he used to produce modular, boxy designs just like everybody else until he saw the movie\u00a0Who Framed Roger Rabbit<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was making everything straight and geometrical, you know normal furniture, trying to find my market and after watching Roger Rabbit I just said to myself \u2018why can\u2019t things be bent and twisted and off kilter?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Crash Table<\/strong><\/p>\n

He started experimenting with plywood and MDF, especially MDF which routers easily, and quickly found his calling. Whether it\u2019s dressers, cabinets, tables or chairs his pieces are always a bit cheeky, like Crash Table which looks like it survived a bad accident or Accordion which looks like a squeeze-box or Little Red Dresser that looks like…well, a dress on a hanger. Sure, his pieces look weird but they\u2019re functional.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Accordion<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI always say \u2018what if? What if a piece of furniture exploded or fractured or melted?\u2019\u201d says Beaumont<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Little Red Dresser<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to his line of furniture Beaumont also makes large installations for hospital waiting rooms, restaurants, and airport lounges.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Installation at Vancouver International Airport<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beaumont handcrafts his prototypes in his Vancouver studio and then manufacturers the components by machine. He\u2019s not adverse to mass production \u2013 he’s made furniture for retailers before \u2013 but Beaumont admits he prefers working with individual clients who come to him with a concept he can turn into something tangible. \u201cIf I keep drawing the same thing over and over that means I have to make it,\u201d he says. That presents him with a design and an engineering challenge, all the better if he can give the finished product a distinct personality.<\/p>\n

+\u00a0Straight Line Designs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Vern and Vinnie are a pair of dressers, the latest in a series of anthropomorphized furniture from Judson Beaumont and his company\u00a0Straight Line Designs. His designs, of course, aren’t straight at all, but a playful interpretation of form and function. Vern and Vinnie Vern and Vinnie were introduced at Interior Design West earlier this fall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":39804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4706,46],"tags":[6909,6907,106,5343,6908,6910,1670,6906,6911],"yoast_head":"\n