The design of children’s furniture can be approached in two ways: by designing expressly for children, taking into account their specific needs, or by scaling down adult furniture. The use of scaled down designer pieces may be seen as a statement of social standing. Prices may reflect the designer element of the piece rather than its appropriateness for use by a child. The production and consumption of small scale adult chairs is nevertheless quite common.
It is sometimes thought that children today grow up too quickly and mini versions of popular adult chairs perpetuates that perception. The chairs are not meant to be confined to the nursery or playroom, rather they are intended to be integrated into the family environment as a reflection of the adult’s preference for design.
The Flux Junior (1) is a scaled down version of the one piece folding Flux Chair. This innovative design was the 2008 graduation project of Douwe Jacobs. Working together with fellow designer, Tom Schouten, the team developed manufacturing processes to enable them to create the Flux Chair which went on to become the winner or the 2011 Grand Designs Product of the Year Award.
Made from a single piece, the chair exploits the material properties of polypropylene (PP) to create a strong seat which has flowing curves when in use but folds flat for storage. It is an excellent demonstration of the use of the living hinge - a thin, flexible link between two or more rigid sections.
The Flux and Flux Junior are available in a range of colours and it is suitable for indoor and outdoor use.