They were big and little creatures. Some were hairy with long, thin tails, and some had noses long as pokers. Some had bulging eyes and some had 20 toes. In they came — crashing through the door, sliding down the chimney, crawling through the windows. They shouted and cried. They banged pots and pans. They twirled their tails and tapped their toes upon the wooden floor.

One constantly trips over such influences as seen in this little side chair. I’m taken with the wool petit point embroidery detail from a collection at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. It’s Mid 18th Century upholstery, Venetian ‘gilded’ (or tainted depending on your viewpoint) with a Rococco-Parisian ‘brush’.

Coates’ latest collection delves into bones and limbs, joints that connect and form skeletal frameworks that sustain weight. In his drawings of the connecting structures one can see at the heart a reference to the human form and life drawing. I asked Coates’ if this was the case and he confirmed that the genesis of this idea had come from thinking about the body’s supporting structures and one stool in particular that had started the ball rolling. Coates showed me his ‘Genie Stool’, with three limbs and the cradle of what seemed to be wood crafted pelvic bones. It reminded me of the primitive African stools that I grew up with. These had been three-stick structures, held together by a leather pouch. The seat cradled the sitter quite naturally, the posture falling into a crouching stance. The result is quite a comfortable structure to rest in.

Each piece was formed in collaboration with Italian company Poltronova. Coates’ short film beautifully outlines the design process with Poltronova and the drawings that worked through the idea.The images here are of the ‘Domo’ pieces which feature sandblasted and sculpted oak. The Plasma chair is an indoor/outdoor piece of steel and leather. More information is available via his studio. All images are ©Nigel Coates Studio.