Punching Bag Chair

The Punching Bag Chair was inspired by Muay Thai training equipment¹, and can be used as such. Designed for impact, the sand filled steel frame is clad in high density padding and foam, which is held in place by a leather slip cover fashioned from cowhide scraps. The slip cover consists of 3 separate patterns that lace up together: the main body, the legs, and the feet. 

 

Unlike commercial equipment, the athletic function doesn't dominate the design, creating a multipurpose object. The chair typology allows it to inhabit spaces without the distinct and often obtrusive presence that athletic designs bring into non-gym environments.

 

The idea sprang from a desire to practice martial arts at home without the out-of-place feel of lone equipment laying around, or the isolated feel of a dedicated gym room. Applying the training pads to a chair was my way of reconciling the clash of the atheltic and the domestic. Similar to my Wrap Chair from 2022 that features reclaimed boxing hand wraps, I wanted to incorporate the materiality of Muay Thai items without being limited by their typology and predetermined aesthetics.