First built for use on submarines in 1944, the Navy Chair has been in continuous production ever since.
The Emeco 1006 Navy Chair was first commissioned in the 1940s by the U.S. Navy for use on warships – the contract even specified that it had to be able to withstand torpedo blasts. Today our chairs are still made in the U.S.A., of 80% recycled aluminum, and are made by hand, by Emeco craftsmen using the original 77 step process. The world’s best architects and designers collaborate with us to design chairs that are built and guaranteed to last a lifetime.
As we apply what we’ve practiced in the past, we are looking toward the future. We are on a mission to make a positive impact on the environment. Our goals are to use waste material in our products, use as little energy as possible in our manufacturing, generate a minimum of waste in the process, and build strong, durable, beautiful chairs that last through generations. We’ve been on the same mission since 1944 and we will continue to search for new ways to recover and utilize discarded materials and make products that last.
Jasper Morrison
“When I saw the 2006 “Super Normal” Exhibition at Axis Gallery in Tokyo that Jasper curated, I understood his design philosophy and began to see that Jasper’s design sensibility fit the Emeco values of timeless simplicity. As we worked together to create the 1 Inch and Alfi Collections, Jasper’s rigorous attention to every detail including materials, engineering, strength, comfort, finish, and the color was astounding.” - Gregg Buchbinder, Emeco.
Both 1 Inch and Alfi reflects Emeco and Jasper Morrison’s common appreciation for the invisible qualities behind simplicity.
"I’m more and more interested in working towards designs which take part in everyday life as naturally as possible. The 1” chair, though far from spectacular, is intended to be an updated Emeco solution to a wide variety of situations where something strong and less flashy is required. The design of the chair seemed basic enough and we were not expecting much trouble in developing it, but we underestimated the complication of bending square aluminium tubes in more than one plane simultaneously. It took Emeco several months of experimentation and it took us uncountable revisions to the drawing before we found the way to do it. It’s probably one of the most complicated chairs I’ve designed though it doesn’t look it." -Jasper Morrison.
We make chairs. In America. Often by hand. Mostly from recycled stuff. But always to last.