SC

At the time, minimalism was the vogue, chairs and sofas being made were not being designed for comfort.

MH

There wasn’t a lot of comfortable modern furniture around. Modern furniture wasn’t that great for ergonomics.

SC

That was something we did at the time. We did talk about this being an English club armchair and all that goes with that, which is mainly to do with comfort. It’s kind of enveloping you. It went against the grain in that respect, as it wasn’t like anything being produced by the young designers around at the time. Everybody was designing much more non-functional forms.

MH

There was a very kind of Bauhausian sensibility at the time. Upholstery was quite hard and kind of fighting to not look soft. Everything was very geometric and proper.

DR

Two other cultural aspects that seem relevant to the Balzac are the fact it was introduced around the same time IKEA came to Britain (1987), with their famous “chuck out the chintz” advertising campaign, and that it then found success in the time of new Labour and the whole “Brit” movement, in design, art, fashion and music. These things seem to me have had an influence on the success of the Balzac as a cultural item.

SC

It was the first time that the public started to understand that modern furniture was acceptable and you didn’t have to have inherited vintage furniture.

MH

There was a whole shift in the early to mid 90s. It was when all the design magazines started. Blueprint had begun in the 80s, and then Elle Deco in the early 90s.