Karen Ryan debutted her charming “Custom Made” chair collection at 100% Design this year and captured our hearts with these weird, wacky and wonderful hybrid monster chairs made from salvaged furniture bits. Each chair is a completely unique work of art, and as much an exploration of consumption and disposability as a practical, functional seat. These funny chairs sort of remind us of the Beetlejuice aesthetic – and we mean that in an entirely good way.
Similarily, Karen Ryan’s salvage plate collection, “Second Hand,” examine nostalgia and irony through the printed word. Karen finds old plates in thrift and antique stores, and partially removes the original pattern, leaving only one sentimental or striking word like a strange ghost of the plate’s former facade. It’s a happy fusion of subversion and tradition.
