JWB Armchair

The JWB is an armchair conceived in the 21st Century to pay homage to the legacy of our company founder Joe Backhouse. We wanted to reference the aesthetic of the furniture pieces created by Joe without directly recreating the previous mid 20th century designs.

Through the use of state of the art technology we are able to reinterpret Joe’s mid-century design aesthetic with a contemporary feel. Revisiting many of the old designs and drawings we were struck by the longevity of Joe’s designs and forms and how relevant many of the products are today. Joe had a love of timber, especially mahogany, rosewood and teak so it was an obvious choice to manufacture the ‘JWB’ out of solid timber including ash, oak and sapele mahogany.

The JWB was awarded a Gold Pin at the 2017 Best Awards and the judges comments were “The beautiful silhouette signifies a chair full of family knowledge, a deep appreciation of furniture making and commitment to the furniture business in New Zealand. The classical elegance and detail resolution of this piece is of the highest standard. The judges recognized the challenge of designing a contemporary, upholstered, timber chair and were impressed by its execution and integrity.”

The ‘JWB’ armchair is the beginning of a new collection, 100% made in New Zealand. Click here to read more on the backstory.