Tiny Modernist Chairs

Tansy examines a coterie of items that are small in size, price, or utility, but extremely high in desirability.

Surely I’m not the only one who doesn’t possess the means to purchase an original Panton ‘S’ Chair or Eames Lounger. Thanks to Vitra, I’m now aware that furnishing a tchotchke shelf is also out of reach.

Consider the collection of 5 miniature Panton Chairs, which are available from Stardust.com for a mere $180.

It’s easy to love this miniature replica of George Nelson’s 1956 Marshmallow Sofa

Unfortunately, at $670, from Hive Modern, it costs more than the real sofa from Ikea, that you could actually, like, sit on.

You can view the entire collection of miniature replica chairs at the Vitra Museum.

Of course, I should have known that the Japanese would have a solution!

Meet Re-ment. A visit to their website is like stepping inside the stockroom for Katamari Damacy — pure zakka heaven.

The Japanese company makes miniatures of all kinds, including Panton-style chairs for the price of an Ikea clock. Now that’s more like it.

They also offer a café table and chairs for a song.

I think Re-ment is catering to hipster doll diorama enthusiasts, which is a niche market to be sure; they even have a Flickr group. There were 255 images tagged with “chair.” I don’t know whether to think that’s frightening or great. I just want my little chairs.

Expect a future installment of Le Petit Objét devoted to Re-ment’s Gyu Gyu Pets.