Iron Furniture Design · 2020
Pohihi Entry Console
- A' Design Award 2020 Iron Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: JOHI Furniture & Design
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 10,766
- Verification code 8109F45018 · Verify this award
About Pohihi Entry Console
Pohihi is an entry console designed for storage in modern homes. The body is made of stained beech, and the four drawer fronts are made of monkeypod. The drawers are built from solid beech and slide on wooden tracks. Handwoven laced Danish cord forms the cabinet door and a low shelf. The woven door works as both a decorative surface and a handle, as no separate handle is fitted. Magnetic fittings hold the door closed, and the interior includes a shelf. The weaving reflects Arab and Hawaiian cultural traditions.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Monkeypod drawer fronts & handwoven laced danish cord stand out as highlights of this piece, framed with a stained beech body. The drawers are completed with solid beech, sliding naturally on wooden tracks. The danish cord cabinet door gives this piece a unique, clean, organic touch. Open the cabinet door to find a spacious interior with shelf. With an easy push the magnetic fittings will secure it closed. Mirroring the woven door, a low shelf allows a gorgeous touch, functional and decorative.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- W 394mm x L 1156mm x H 1067mm
- Tags
- furniture, home, joinery, weaving, residential, interior, storage, modern, living
- Production Technology
- Materials-wise, we needed to design around Hawaii's fluctuating climate, throughout the year moving from from humid to dry, hot to cold. For this reason, we chose to make the frame in dimensionally stable hardwood plywood and use traditional wood joinery that accounts for wood movement.
You'll find more about our approach to weaving and reason for weaving with laced danish cord in the Research section. - Design Challenge
- One of the most challenging aspects of designing a piece with multicultural intent is leaving flexibility for future clients or customers to impart their own style and interpretation on it. There's also much more to share from a cultural and locale perspective than what is stereotypical. There is more to island style than white washing wood; more to Hawaiian design than kapa motifs. There is more to Arab art than calligraphy and geometric pattern. Our goal was to design a contemporary piece that represented a common ground of our cultures and felt true to ourselves.
- Project Duration
- Location: Haliimaile, Maui, Hawaii, USA
Year: 2019 - Operation Flow
- The handwoven Danish cord of the cabinet door acts both as artistic visual interest and a type of handle, as no distinct handle is in the design. The drawer handles are similarly low profile to let the clean lines of the overall design shine.
- Research
- We challenged ourselves to design around commonalities in Arab and Hawaiian cultural practices. We looked to our personal experiences from youth to adulthood as well as cultural readings and contemporary practice in both areas. Rather than focusing on visual pattern, we were drawn to the process of weaving.
In the Arab world, Sadu (السدو) is the tradition of geometric embroidery for furnishings, rugs and saddles. This practice is historically carried out by the women of Bedouin communities, and it offers a chance to gather and share news and stories. As the world changes, this tradition is being left behind and is now considered a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Tradition in need of safeguarding.
The same may be said of needing to safeguard knowledge here in Hawai'i of making and using cordage. Within Polynesian voyaging, fishing, and land cultivation culture, there was always great need to create strong durable kaula (cord/rope) from available natural resources. The plants often used include olona, pulu niu (coconut husk fiber) & hau (sea hibiscus). After gathering and crafting certain sizes and lengths of cordage, it could be used for canoe lashings, carrying handles or net bags, slings, sandals, a sewing material, and more.
In reviewing weaving materials, we settled on weaving with laced Danish cord, a paper base product that began gaining popularity for use in furniture after WWII. Most cords feature a 3-ply construction, where paper is twisted together to produce a very strong laced cord. While it can be a little tricky to work with at times, knotting up on itself and untwisting, the cord is a perfect material choice for stressed applications and longevity in furniture.
Experimenting with different weaving styles, we ultimately found the design needed variation between a less complex weave and one with more density to create a stronger visual dynamic. - Inspiration
- Designed to tuck away bits and bobs while jointly displaying household favorites. We strove to highlight weaving, as it is an important technique used in my family's cultures, Arab and Hawaiian. As modern homes tend to get cluttered quickly, it was important to create a clean aesthetic that could l provide ample storage. Together, the wood and laced danish cord are intended to bring a warm modern feel to the home.
- Image Credits
- Image #1 - #5: Photographer Raja Badr-El-Din, Pohihi Entry Console, 2019
- Patents
- Copyrights belong JOHI LLC, 2019
Colors of Pohihi Entry Console
Design Interview about Pohihi Entry Console
Designed to tuck away bits and bobs while jointly displaying household favorites. We strove to highlight weaving, as it is an important technique used in my family's cultures, Arab and Hawaiian. As modern homes tend to get cluttered quickly, it was important to create a clean aesthetic that could provide ample storage. Together, the wood and laced danish cord are intended to bring a warm modern feel to the home.
Ultimately, we wanted to design a contemporary, low fuss piece that felt true to ourselves, while leaving flexibility for clients to impart their own style and interpretation on it.
We are offering this design on a made to order basis, where clients are able to customize elements to suit their personality and spaces. We see this approach as a way to lower the barrier to heirloom quality furniture. Every piece is an opportunity to collaborate, to bring clients something uniquely their own based off of the original design. They may prefer different weaving patterns, combination of woods, or accent details.
We developed this design over 2 months.
We developed this design first for our own home. At the time, we were actively designing a collection of pieces that featured weaving. From the first realized iteration, we made adjustments in material choices, weaving style, and fittings to improve the design.
We intend to produce the work ourselves from our design and fabrication studio in Maui, Hawaii. We are always available to quote shipping and delivery both on and off island.
In our first collection release, we knew we wanted to have a mix of interior furniture, outdoor grade furniture, and a decorative yet functional surf piece. The Pohihi Entry Console, Hibal Coffee Table, and indoor/outdoor Planter Benches were the first collection designs we pursued.
It really ranges from our perspective. In our design goals overall, we hope to lower the barrier to heirloom quality furniture for families. We want to encourage home owners and renters to look for high quality, long lasting furniture rather than settling for pieces that may deteriorate within two - five years and end up headed to the dump. We hope to develop quality products for all budgets.
Our personal approach to the design highlights a handwoven touch that is not common in mass produced designs.
In our design names, we share both Hawaiian and Arabic words. Pohihi, from Hawaiian, represents two thoughts for us. The first is the console’s function of hiding your belongings. It also represents a unique complex time, navigating the first few months of small business ownership.
In line with our typical design process with and without clients, we started with pen and paper. We like to model our designs in CAD and gather material options before getting to work on fabrication in our studio workshop.
Much of our design decision making was driven by personal interest in how cultural representation works together with contemporary practice. We pursued qualitative information from this perspective. We also researched weaving materials for longevity and accessibility.
One of the most challenging aspects of designing a piece with multicultural intent is leaving flexibility for future clients or customers to impart their own style and interpretation on it. There's also much more to share from a cultural and locale perspective than what is stereotypical. There is more to island style than white washing wood; more to Hawaiian design than kapa motifs. There is more to Arab art than calligraphy and geometric pattern. Our goal was to design a contemporary piece that represented a common ground of our cultures and felt true to ourselves.
It was a difficult decision to make as early business owners. Really it came down to us and our brand being based in a small community. We figured, why not try? This leap, more than anything at the time, was an option to challenge ourselves and the walls we inevitably create with our comfort zones.