nz outdoor furniture + home decor | online store | est. 2010
flutter history
the latest flutter milestone
We are proud of our NZ made, top quality Flutter Chairs & replacement covers. 2020 marks our 11th year in business .
In addition to this great miles stone, we have been awarded an official Certificate of License which grants us the use of the
New Zealand Made trademark as a trusted mark of authenticity.
Licence No. 807000
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international history
Argentinean architects Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy, Juan Kurchan & Antonio Bonet first designed the metal framed ‘Hardoy’ or ‘BKF’ chair in 1938 for their own offices.
The designers took the chair to the USA where it was eventually manufactured under licence by Knoll International. During the 1950's as popularity grew world wide unlicensed copies flooded the market despite Knolls attempts to protect it.
Its organic shape & delicate steel frame later became iconic 1950's design & became generically know as the ‘Butterfly’ chair.
Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy
inspiration down-under
In NZ in the 1950's English born interior & furniture designer John Crichton produced his own version of the BKF chair and named it the ‘Hammock’ or ‘Safari’ chair. This chair was made in NZ and available as a black or white painted frame with a canvas slip cover.
Many of these old frames lay coverless & neglected in garages and bachs around NZ until in 2010 Flutter Design re popularised the vintage NZ ‘Butterfly’ chair offering custom made new covers.
1950's Crichton Safari Chair
John Crichton & interior of his Kitchener St AKL store
circa 1955
rebirth of the cool
In 2010 Liz Kerby inherited her families ‘Butterfly’ chair from their family bach. Frustrated that she could not buy a new cover or frame she set about reinventing the wheel. Inspired by the love of mid century design and the original BKF chair she set about redesigning a NZ classic.
Changing the ergonomics of the frame to make it more comfortable and using the latest outdoor UV acrylic canvas the Flutter Chair was born.
Working in collaboration with Philippa Bentley & using the cover as a canvas took the NZ made Flutter Chair to a new level along with the customised leather cover option hand made in Buenos Aires especially for Flutter.
The Flutter Chair as out door furniture with a variety of fashion block colours, stripes, tropical florals & mesh continue to delight lovers of classic design with personality and comfort.
Flutter Butterfly Chairs - Philippa Bentley Dragonfly series 2011
Liz Kerby - Butterfly Chair Circle
Parker Hotel, Palm Springs USA 2013
Liz Kerby
Snells Beach, Matakana Coast AKL 2022