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FlexibleLove - the extraordinary expanding chair

FlexibleLove - the extraordinary expanding chair
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
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The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
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The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
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The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
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The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
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The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
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The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
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The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
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The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
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It’s a little embarrassing when a crowd of friends descend on your doorstep and you don’t have enough chairs to seat them all. However, if you have a FlexibleLove chair - you won’t have anything to worry about. This fabulously functional chair = is constructed almost entirely from recycled cardboard and recycled wood waste and can expand to hold up to16 people! Read on, you’ll be amazed at what this single piece of furniture can do…

At first glance, the design of the FlexibleLove chair seems quite simple, but once you see how quickly and easily it can be expanded and contracted, you really appreciate the complexity of its design. The unique qualities of its accordion and honeycomb structure allow it to be stretched and folded into a multitude of shapes and lengths - creating surprisingly strong seating. To change its length and shape, you simply pull each end – much like playing an accordion. For a chair that offers this much flexibility and adaptability, it’s hard to believe it is made almost entirely of recycled cardboard.

The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths

The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and lengths

How does cardboard manage to hold the weight of up to 16 people? Their body weight is divided evenly between the hundreds of cells contained in the chair. And, although it is strong enough to support the weight of all those people, it won’t support unbalanced weights so don’t let the kids jump or walk on it and obviously don’t use it outside or near fire!

The FlexibleLove was designed by Chise Chiu, a young designer from Taiwan. He discovered a factory in suburban Taipei that made honeycomb-structured pieces of recycled paper. This gave him the idea that the qualities of rigid honeycomb-structured cardboard could be used to create flexible furniture. His name, ‘FlexibleLove', was derived from the concept of a ‘flexible love-seat’ – that is, seating that can hold up to sixteen people simply by altering its shape and length. Each of his pieces is constructed using the same honeycomb structure, to allow for quick and easy extension and collapse.

When the FlexibleLove chair is first used, about two millimeters (about 1/10th of an inch) will bend, but these marks across the surface will eventually level off, leaving a velvet-like appearance. It is also recommended that the chair be folded regularly to minimize the signs of use, and moistening the surface slightly before folding will also help to achieve a better look.

As the name suggests, the FlexibleLove model 8 can accommodate up to eight people. When folded it measures 25 x 21.8 x 5.1 inches and it stretches to 25 x 21.8 x 140.4 inches. It can support weight up to 2116.44 pounds (averaging out at about 264 pounds per person) and weighs 28.66 pounds.

The FlexibleLove model 16 will seat up to 16 people and when folded measures 25 x 21.8 x 8.8 inches. Weighing 55.12 pounds, it can be stretched to a length of 280.8 inches and will support body weight of up to 4232.87 pounds.

Currently available for sale in the U.K from FlexibleLove UK the model 8 is priced at GBP220 (approx. US$347 at time of publication) and the model 16 is priced at GBP390 (approx. US$615 at time of publication). Not a bad price for eco-friendly, strong pieces of furniture that offer adaptable, flexible seating.

Via noquedanblogs and LikeCool

FLEXIBLE LOVE

View gallery - 7 images
13 comments
13 comments
Ingo
I saw video demonstration of this exact folding chair at least five or six years ago. Why is it only now coming out on the market?
Gavrilo Bozovic
Looks good, right?
Well we have one at my office. It\'s the model of a fun idea but totally useless: you can\'t really get it to hold in any position, it will slowly move. It\'s terribly incomfortable, and the surface keeps deep butt marks, even if we barely used it at all.
It\'s mostly embarassing to see it around, we\'re constantly thinking \"how did we get to buy this crap??\"
windykites
Gavrilo, could you feed some bendy wire through the hole under the main seat part? This might help to keep the shape. Maybe some foam cushions to sit on may help with the butt marks. I guess the cardboard in the concertina is too thin. Thicker card with fewer layers would be a better way of construction.
Ken Williams
I got a hat made like this for my birthday once. It was pretty cool. Until I took it off (because it was kind of uncomfortable) and discovered dozens of papercuts all around my head. Not anticipating enjoying the chair version.
Ariel Dahan
U can\'t say it\'s brand new. It have been saled in France for a couple of years already...
Facebook User
We are writting from Flexiblelove LTD in London. We now perfectly who´s comment about our Flexiblelove chair trying to harm us. We are lucky, because we only have one costumer unhappy but a 1000 enjoying the chair. Flexiblelove is a well know company worldwide. We participate in trade shows as Birmigham Interiors and Gran Designs live (London). Also we have participated in Milan Show, Paris, Madrid, Tokio....etc. As a sample, i do post the translation from the magazine which can be follow by this link. http://www.hfb.dk/index.php?id=172&tx_ttnews[year]=2009&tx_ttnews[month]=10&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1313&tx_ttnews[backPid]=157&cHash=9f9db125e2 They report about our Booth in Valencia International Furniture Show. "But it convinced us immediately that it was not a bilge! "The stability was surprisingly good and the most fantastic thing is that the form was totally arbitrary: wavy or straight; about columns and objects, as a sculpture, etc." "During the cocktail offered on the 22nd there was the FL Earth 16, since it is called the seat, his acid test: they placed about the columns of the lounge and were very used by the hundreds of guests without other damages had that some modest signs of pressure" Obviously we can not probe all this online, it's quite difficult to feel the touch of the chair, how it moves, what the people feels about it. But in flexiblelove we knew that, that's why we record videos on the street, last week end in London.....(will be on our youtube channel soon ) On those videos, you will see how it works and how do the people think about the chair.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKs23hXEQjU Flexiblelove has been also on some realities like Big Brother, used for 5 months like the only seats on the living room..... Our chairs has been also selected by Issey Miyaki for the presentation of his new campaign in Hong Kong, also flexible love has been presented in Arco one of the best art fairs worldwide.
From here we also want to invite readers to contact us if you have any other question. See you in Gran Design Live London!!!!!
Flexiblelove LTD www.flexibleloveuk.co.uk
FlexibleLove Canada
FlexibleLove furniture now available in North America. For more info and to order online visit http://flexiblelove.ca
@ Gavrilo Bozovic: did you follow the instructions? Check out http://www.flexibleloveuk.co.uk/ and click \'Instructions\' ...
Beatrice Tang
I have got the minuture version of the flexiblelove chaire form Taiwan a couple of years ago. Could anyone tell me if they are the same and where to get one.
Matt Miniea
My cats will MURDER this thing and love every microsecond of it. Can\'t wait to get my new FlexibleLove Scratching Post!
Mike Eggermont
We just got this for our office. Cool looking, but no matter how hard we stretch it, it zips back to being about 3 feet wide. We are contemplating putting 6 people on it for a whole day to see if it stays. I'm not sure why ours is so different from the ones in the video.
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