yothaka: outdoor furniture collection at TIFF 2012

‘ritual mark armchair’ by yothaka image © designboom

thai furniture manufacturer yothaka has debuted their 2012 collection at the thailand international furniture fair. maintaining culture relevance to their designs, the company utilizes a range of craft techniques and local materials to produce their furniture, including: hyacinth, yan lipao, opium poppy and pineapple paper to produce their signature chairs.  

view of bamboo and leather chair image © designboom

the tropical water weed hyacinth is commonly found in the rivers and lakes of southeast asia and its fast growth was causing problems for the thai government. in order to provide incentive for the villagers along the water to remove the plant from the water, the weed was developed into an environmentally sustainable income generating material. as it was in abundance, yothaka found a means of integrating the fibres of the plant into their furniture.

another material application and local handicraft technique is the use of yan lipao, found only in the forests of southern thailand, which is woven through traditional basketry techniques into structural forms.

lisu is an ethnic hill tribe group found in eastern tibet. the main livelihood of the people has been the cultivation of the opium poppy which can be made into cloth and rope that yothaka harnesses as well for the production of their chairs.

although paper has been used for thousands of years for various purposes, thailand has developed a fiber made of pineapples which the company has made into stools and bench seating, in a range of colors.

outside of natural fibers, yothaka has also been working with PE plastic since 2005. their recyclable collection is made of a polyurethane-polyethylene compound, but woven the same as the natural rattan line.

bamboo detailing image © designboom

yothaka’s 2012 collection on show at TIFF 2012

image © designboom

‘kolon armchair’

image © designboom

‘cham armchair’

image © designboom

‘b-guard chiar’ from 2011 collection

image © designboom

‘bang-ma armchair’

image © designboom

pineapple paper stools with the ’emmanuelle chair’

image © designboom

detail of pineapple paper

image © designboom

TIFF thailand international furniture fair 2012 is a green-oriented furniture fair that assembles the best of thailand’s designers in a central meeting point. at this annual gathering visitors experience

the diversity and creativity of thai design in addition to witnessing the newest collections and taking advantage of the opportunity to readily network

with manufacturers, exporters and other influential players in the thai furniture industry.