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The making of the Onyar

The inspiration

With only weeks to prepare...


When we signed up for 100% Design with only weeks to prepare, we decided to move full steam ahead with our new design which our Design Director, Nick Lewis had been working on. We wanted an additional product to include in our new Corporate and Hospitality range, which we launched at Clerkenwell Design Week back in May. So we chose to create a sofa with a beautifully simple curved shape and a lovely soft form.  We had previously worked with a sub-contractor to create metal under frames, which provide a lovely elegance to the sofa so we knew this was something we wanted to include.  

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The process

Sketches

The process starts with simple hand drawn concept sketches as Nick’s father, Roger Lewis always did. ‘From the sketch I wanted to represent our company style, trying to produce a sofa which fits with our brand. The Onyar is low backed, contemporary and modern with a slight Scandi feel about it.  The manufacture is different to our normal construction of sofas, we’re used to webbing and springing, but this is more of a box structure with profile cut foam to create the lovely soft shapes inside.’

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Prototyping

After the initial sketch stage, it was time to create the form through prototyping.

 

Nick went straight from the sketch into full-scale prototyping, taking full advantage of our factory facilities to do this entirely in-house.  There was no need to do any kind of modelling or scale modelling, instead Nick created the full-scale drawings and then worked straight at prototyping and was very hands on alongside our product developer.

‘It was nice to work in ply, creating the shape of one arm first, then using the frame and foam to create the form, and from there it was all about getting the detailing right’
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The final product

We proudly launched the final product at 100% Design at Olympia London.

We wanted to make sure it made an impression and decided to showcase the sofa in two different Kvadrat fabrics and shades of pink. It had an extremely positive reception, generating lots of attention. We’ve since expanded the range to include a small sofa and an armchair.

The Onyar was designed for corporate and hospitality projects, hotel lobbies and breakout areas yet we ensured it also fits perfectly in residential properties.  All of Roger Lewis’ range names are places of tranquillity for their team. The Onyar River runs through the inspiring city of Genoa. Situated in Catalonia and located near the home of Salvador Dali. it’s a vibrant and colourful city, which is architecturally historical and has an artistic playful tradition. The perfect name to sum up the character of this wonderful range.

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CRAFTMANSHIP
We aspire to create a manufacturing house where the culture is focused on the enjoyment of creating products that we are proud of.

Our team of craftsmen ensure that every piece we make is hand cut, sewn, upholstered and valeted to exacting standards. Great care and attention is taken in making a product that our team can be proud of and that your customer will love for years to come.

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Downloadable content for
our ranges:

  • Technical range sheets
  • High resolution images
  • CAD files

Our collaborative
design process

  • Private Label retail and large contract projects
  • Associated minimum order quantities

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