SANTA FE ROCKERS
Maloof-Inspired Sculpted Rocking Chairs
About
About RBWing
I have lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico since 2007. I have been making these rocking chairs since 2019 and selling them since 2020. In the shop, I'm absorbed for hours in the flow of design and execution challenges, pushing the limits of my skill and imagination. I make mistakes every day, sometimes, fortunate mistakes which influence design. I learn from these mistakes and learn even more, about how wood works, from their correction. I love making these chairs! I love the Art Festivals and the positive feedback. I love the challenge of combining contrasting hardwoods, and I love making changes ( I think improvements ) that enhance comfort yet still maintain the unmistakable Maloof style.
About the Rocking Chairs & My Process
By the nature of the wood and the process, each chair is unique; each chair is sculpted as my eyes and hands behold it coming together. Yes, there are patterns to start but important choices arise as the work progresses: the pattern of grains, textures, and colors; the curve of the legs, the shape of the headrest, the spacing and the shape of the back slats. Attaining mastery or precision in the work, and design choices area constant challenges and a source of anguish and delight. Finally, watching the surprise at the level of comfort people experience is very rewarding.
In 2020, my first potential client, an 87 year old woman, loved my chair but said it was too hard to get out of. So, I changed almost everything about the chair except the curvature of the back slats. I tightened the radius of the rockers and the curvature of the back legs; I sloped the arms downward and I raised the back of the seat slightly, all to make the chair easier to enter and exit, and it works. Of all the people, of all ages and body types, who have since sat in the chairs at the festivals, no one has ever had any difficulty getting in or out of the chairs.
My process is always an evolving response to the material at hand, to the grain, to the shapes that emerge. I work mostly in North American hardwoods such as Beech, Cherry, Walnut, Maple, Oak, and Hickory. Each chair combines contrasting wood types. Eyes and hands behold and respond. Choices evolve and the result is always a unique creation.
There are no straight lines in the human body. There are few straight lines in my chairs. Sitting in a chair, but especially a rocking chair, is probably the most tactile experience one can have with any type of furniture. It is a full-body experience requiring ergonomic comfort and a pleasant sensation as the whole body is captured.
Each adult rocker takes between 100-120 hours to build and sculpt for unmatched comfort. My adult rockers were originally inspired by Sam Maloof's graceful, organic creations but I have also been influenced by William Kappel, Hal Taylor, Paul Limisky, and Charles Brock.
