Top furniture collections - you can browse online!
While the UK goes into full lockdown to help beat Coronavirus, some woodworkers are reflecting that self isolation in the garden workshop, shed, or makeshift workspace isn’t so different from a normal week!
While some of the bigger processes and machining jobs will be delayed, our students have taken their hand tools home to continue practising and refining their hand skills.
It’s perhaps an opportunity for woodworkers to give a increased focus to design whilst away from the distractions of the main workshop.
While we are unable to immerse ourselves in design by visiting exhibitions and furniture museums – there is a wealth of design inspiration we can access online - and through inexpensive second hand furniture design books.
To keep you all busy in the next few weeks, we have listed our top online furniture collections to inspire your next design.
(See our book recommendations on the following blog)
Top Virtual Furniture Design Collections
1. The Vitra Design Museum
The furniture collection of the Vitra Design Museum encompasses the major eras, themes and protagonists of industrial furniture design. The core holdings comprise approximately 6000 objects and you can filter and view the whole collection online by Designer, Manufacturer, Furniture type, Material and more!
http://collection.design-museum.de/#/en/content/100376264/objects?_k=7jzck3
2. The Victoria and Albert Museum Online Furniture and Woodwork Collection.
The V&A has been collecting furniture and woodwork for over 150 years. This diverse collection is unrivalled for breadth and quality, spanning over six centuries of British and international furniture production – from Japanese lacquer and furniture from the 1851 Great Exhibition, to innovative contemporary design.
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/category/furniture/THES48948/
3. The ercol Furniture Collection
Lucian R Ercolani founded ercol in 1920 in the heartland of English furniture making. HE designed beautiful and honest furniture and the company is a cornerstone of British furniture design.
Ercol provide online catalogue archives of all ercol Furniture from 1933 to present day – just select a year and catalogue and view in their flipbook link!
https://www.ercol.com/en-gb/about/archive/
4. The Eames Furniture Collections
Charles and Ray Eames were amongst the most important American Designers of the 20th century. Their work is the cornerstone of the Vitra gallery – but their designs are also catalogued here on this link:
https://www.eamesoffice.com/catalog-category/furniture/
5. Sam Maloof Furniture Online Gallery
Sam Maloof was considered a leader of the Californian modern arts movement and one of the finest woodworkers of our time. View his collection here.
https://gallery.collectorsystems.com/MaloofOnlineGallery/2191
6. MoMa Design Store
Over 100 furniture pieces by designers represented in MoMA’s collection
https://store.moma.org/for-the-home/home/furniture?view=grid
