The Rachel Chair

Of his brand Los-Angeles-based company Bend, founder Gaurav Nanda says he wanted "to offer something different, something edgier, a lot more intricate and comfortable" in the realm of wire furniture than the usually-admired but heritage Bertoia designs for Knoll. For inspiration Gaurav looked to an unlikely combination of sources: his own stint as an automobile sculptor/designer for General Motors on the one hand and an appreciation of 1970s-influenced crafts, including string art and the knotted patterns of macramé plant holders made by his mother, on the other.

Gaurav's attention to the production process is unstinting—for example, each chair undergoes 300 to 400 handmade spot-welds (a process called "bending," hence the company name) and is painstakingly sandblasted, rustproofed and powder-coated to a weatherproof finish. Expanding his range beyond furniture to decorative objects was a natural progression. "Inspiration comes from everywhere but music plays a crucial role in my process.  New songs and artists are constantly playing in the workshop, which makes for a lively and happier work environment too," he says. "It is exciting to see our ideas evolve and where we want our story to go."