Freifrau's Nana chair makes light work of sitting
Brand story by Markus Hieke
Lemgo, Germany
09.12.21
The simplicity of Hanne Willmann's Nana chair for Freifrau is its biggest strength. With cloud-like upholstery, the perfectly balanced chair looks as light as it feels.
Sitting on the clouds: the design for the Nana chair comes from the Berlin-based designer Hanne Willmann
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Sitting on the clouds: the design for the Nana chair comes from the Berlin-based designer Hanne Willmann
×'The Nana should radiate a feeling of comfort and security. When you sit in it, it should feel like home,' says Hanne Willmann about her new upholstered chair for Freifrau . This not only sounds extraordinarily beautiful, but you can definitely see it in the chair itself – Willmann is also convinced of this: 'The Nana offers comfort. You can see that from 100 yards away.'
The seat nestles into a slender frame of powder-coated tubular steel
For the Berlin-based designer, Nana is the first piece of furniture she has designed for the Lemgo-based manufacturer. 'Showcasing the femininity of the Freifrau brand in my design was a wonderful challenge for me,' explains Willmann. 'My designs are often very rectilinear, and I wanted to be as soft as possible for Freifrau without moving into decorative territory. With the Nana , we have managed to create a very soft design that nonetheless features the elements that I represent.'
The voluminous wool bouclé upholstery fabric comes from Dedar in Italy and feels as soft as it looks
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The voluminous wool bouclé upholstery fabric comes from Dedar in Italy and feels as soft as it looks
×From the manufacturer’s perspective, Nana can clearly be understood as an 'homage to the art of furniture upholstery'. The seat shell upholstered in the soft and cloud-like bouclé wool fabric Nimbus by the textile company Dedar nestles into a frame of powder-coated tubular steel. Floatingly light and calm in appearance, the design in fact required an intensive development period. The resulting design of Nana is a masterpiece of balance: simultaneously voluminous and refined, simple and perfect, unique and yet familiar. The chair is available with or without armrests.
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