The Bobbin Cord Chair is a character piece for taprooms with a farmhouse or old-world feel. Its back posts, legs and stretchers are bobbin-turned — a row of beads along each member — in dark-stained hardwood, with two ladder rails at the back and a seat hand-woven in natural paper cord.
Woven cord seats are an old answer to a taproom problem: they flex slightly under the sitter, breathe in warm weather and have no foam to absorb spills. Paper cord is surprisingly tough and, if damaged, can be rewoven by a craftsperson rather than replaced.
The bobbin turning is decorative, but the structure underneath is straightforward: four legs with stretchers on all sides, which makes the chair stable and rigid in daily use. The finish is a commercial lacquer on the timber; the cord can be sealed for easier cleaning.
The Bobbin Cord Chair is compact, which makes it useful along tight communal tables, and it mixes well with Windsor chairs and plank tables for a collected, not catalogue, look. Keep cord seats in indoor or covered areas.
