by Marko.

Since I’m from Slovenia, I might as well share some of our most important industrial (interior) design achievements, especially during the Yugoslavia years. Aynway, I bought one of these chairs in wenge, called the Rex chair, by Niko Kralj (his last name means »king«), a couple of weeks ago. Comfy. The funny thing is that I actually first sat on one of those during my exams at the University. See, our professors are proud people. Anyway, during those years Mr. Niko Kralj, an architect who studied with Eames, supposedly almost didn’t make a single penny, or should I say: dinar, from his folding furniture designs, originating from 1952. Around 2 million were made. The design is inspired by, or a part of, so-called Scandinavian nature-minimalism, so the construction is simple and was first based on solid beech wood with a fluid folding mechanism. His design principle was always innovative simplicity (technically speaking), good form, and availability or social responsibility (»good design for low incomes«). Boy, how the times have changed. The originals can cost up to more than $200 dollars, the new ones are a bit cheaper, around $120. Of course, it all depends on the size, and type of wood. Well, you can get an idea of all the styles possible in the pictures above. Here’s a link to the catalogue in pdf format in case you’re interested:

http://www.impakta.si/Datoteke/Slike_ostalo/REX_folder_07_mali.pdf

The chair is also included in the MOMA design collection.

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