Giovanni (Gio) Ponti Woven Chairs

Giovanni (Gio) Ponti - 1891–1979

1927 - The Cassina brothers founded their company, Cassina, in Meda, Italy.

1935 - The company was renamed Figli di Amadeo Cassina.

1951 - Cassina produced Gio Ponti's first Model 646 Leggera (light) chair, inspired by the light ladderback chairs with woven seats designed by Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi in 1807.

1957 - The birth of the award-winning Model 699 Superleggera (super light) was designed while Cassina was outfitting luxury ship liners with Gio Ponti. The chair weighed in at just 1.7 kg. The frames were produced at Cassina’s factory and then transported to Chiavari, where the seats were woven in cane by pieceworkers or seat weavers.

Gio Ponti Style High Leggera Ladderback Chair

Goi Ponti Style Leggera Ladderback Chair woven in fibre rush

This Gio Ponti-style High back ladderback chair is woven in fibre rush. These chairs were stamped as being made in Italy.

These chairs have double side rails and a flat front rail. The legs are rounded, similar to the Leggera chair.

This Gio Ponti-style High back ladderback chair is woven in a thick gauge seagrass in the fibre rush pattern. These chairs were stamped as being made in Italy.

These chairs have double side rails and a flat front rail. The legs are rounded, similar to the Leggera chair.

This is a Gio Ponti-style High back ladderback chair woven with a Danish cord four-by-four pattern.

These chairs were stamped as being made in Italy.

This chair has a single side rail and is without a front rail. The legs are rounded, similar to the Leggera chair; however, they have flat tops.

This is a Gio Ponti-style High back ladderback chair woven in seagrass in a two-by-four pattern.

This chair was stamped as being made in Italy.

This chair has double side rails and a rounded front rail. The legs are rounded, similar to the Leggera chair.

Gio Ponti Style Laddar Back Chair Woven with Seagrass

Gio Ponti Style Laddar Back Chair Woven with Danish Cord

Seagrass and the No-Nail Technique

The seagrass used in chair weaving comes from Asia. The seagrass is twisted to form a green rope material when newly woven and will brown as it ages.

Seagrass is a courser and more rigid material than the Danish cord material.

It tends to sit a bit more proud and offers beautiful tones in the twisted grass.

Danish Cord and the No-Nail Technique

Danish cord is a robust 3-ply paper product. The cord is slightly waxed to resist dirt and stains.

The Beige Danish cord is in its natural state, the white Danish cord has been bleached, and the black Danish cord has been dyed.

I prefer the thicker gauge laced cord when using a no-nail Danish cord weaving technique. I just love how the cord's texture plays with the woven pattern's intricacies.

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