On a day off in China, I decided to take advantage of the time. I wanted to see something old. China's history dates back farther than anything I have seen in person before.  I walked to a ancient hidden city called Nantou. Behind this walled city that dates back to 500 A.D., I found a treasure trove of inspiration. Over many windows in this hidden city, there were elaborately designed metal gates that were just stunning. On the way back to my hotel, I walked over a modern pedestrian suspension bridge. The honeycomb pattern of the walkway mirrored that of the gates on the windows. This pattern inspired my chair.

Reinforced concrete. The top hinges off of a solid brass cylinder while gravity aligns the shapes. I am big fan of Brutalist Architecture. Part of my Necessity Collection for Wanted Design 2015 spring debut. 

Every which way I turned, walking around in Shenzhen, I noticed everyone using trestle bases albeit for work surfaces or make shift scaffolding to stand on. Theirs mostly made from scraps of wood nailed together. For mine, I decided to use steel updating a classic that has been a necessity for centuries. Still raw and true at it's core with it's simplicity. 

Walking  through the back roads in China  (actually they  are more like alley ways than roads) on my days off, I discovered so many hodge podge ways people were making things to sit on, work on, and relax on. I saw wood pallets assembled not far from the road side with a mattress on it with pillows. This gave me an idea for a small daybed. 

Bamboo scaffolding is used in Hong Kong and throughout southern China for workers to scale to help  erect sky scrappers. The heights that they achieve is staggering. They say bamboo scaffolding is much safer than the steel structures we see in New York City. Being a fan of modern architecture, I wanted to strip the rebar out of the reinforced concrete and form it into the bamboo scaffolding for my bookshelf. 

Working in a furniture factory one day, I saw the most interesting chair next to a desk that factory workers just pieced together with things they had lying around. It was so weird that I found it compelling. The back was really tall. The frame simple enough to be just enough for it to support someone. This is my interpretation of the aha I had when I first saw it. 

Part of my necessity collection. A concrete slab binded to brass tubing with a fiberglass shade.