Tacchini's Julep: Providing Intimate Comfort
Sweet, colorful and with a kick--those are the common descriptions for a mint julep, the alcoholic drink. All those adjectives are applicable to Tacchini's Julep, a family of sofas that look as comfortable as they feel.
“The Julep sofa system looks like what it might feel like to collapse in the lap of a massive, friendly gorilla,” read a New York Magazine article for this contemporary Tacchini furniture.
The Julep is known for its enveloping shape. The look is what The Strategist from the New York Magazine called the future of furniture design. The column called such design “chubby.”
“This type of elephantine, chubby, zoomorphic design has been around for a while and is just now on the up-and-up,” The Strategist said.
Indeed, the Julep was inspired by the Advanteau of the 1950s, which was described by Tacchini as simple yet grandeur, characterized by contemporary, romantic and feminine characteristics. The pouf seat gives the design the identity that is well-loved by contemporary furniture enthusiasts. The Julep--a sofa, a chaise, armchair and an ottoman--look full and plentiful but light. The lightness will remind one of a large floater. It is fully upholstered and is lifted from the ground with a recessed based that seems invisible. The Julep lineup of seats was designed with intimacy and rest in mind, which is why it is perfect for every home and any domestic setting.
Designed by architect and designer Jonas Wagell in 2018, the Julep immediately raked in awards such as the Muuuz International Awards 2018 and the Archiproducts Design Awards 2018. Born in 1973, Wagell studied at the famed Parsons School of Design in New York. He specialized in interior design in both New York and in his hometown of Stockholm. He owns his own design company, the JWDA.
Wagell is a significant collaborator for Italian brand Tacchini. The company was founded in 1967 by Antonio. After over 50 years, the Italian brand is proud of its expansion and the many influences it has garnered brought about by the growth of the company as Antonio started a family, which in turn extended its reach through its heirs and the children that followed. The Tacchini family continued to expand with collaborators, consultants, employees, suppliers and customers, which have been counted as part of the family.
“In this family, the strength of the idea is at the center of every creative moment, in a normal evolution: from the abstraction of the thought to the three-dimensionality of the object, to then become the essence of living,” the Italian brand states on its website. “This constant process ensures the link with the contemporary, then enhanced by the choice of quality materials and updated technologies always referring to a tradition not to be missed.”
While the Julep looks delicate, it is actually quite strong as the internal structure is composed of birch plywood with elastic straps. The stuffing is made of differentiated density polyurethane foam. The base is a poplar plywood that is three millimeters thick and covered with the same fabric as the seat.
The Julep is part of Tacchini's “Design Being” series, which is a set of furniture designs that showcase “living Tacchini”--a lifestyle designed by the Italian brand that evokes subliminal comfort and intimate luxury.