THE WOOD LABORATORY WOOD In 1991 and 1992, many of the projects of Produzione Privata were objects to be made in wood. The attraction for this material stemmed from a research carried out for the Design Gallery of Milan, which culminated in an exhibition held in 1990. It was comprised of twelve projects and entitled ‘Fine Novecento’. All the pieces of furniture were made of solid cherry wood and they are representative of that historic moment between two decades. Without doubt the commission to produce furniture for Produzione Privata came from the necessity of Michele De Lucchi to furnish his own house in Milan. It was small and full of charm, built at the end of the last century but badly treated during restoration. The new pieces of furniture by Produzione Privata sought to link the style of the house, the furniture and that specific moment of family life in a contemporary fashion. Designing this also helped to develop a notion of Design in the Nineties. These years were very different to the eighties which were characterised by very provocative theories and ideals. From the end od Memphis on, it seemed as if the need to provoke was replaced by the need to find security. It was as if there were already too many worries in the world and people were finally asking design and architecture for a sense of calm and direction. It is not by chance that many of these objects were made in a traditional style with many elements of memory just as in the Biedermeier period. There were tables, coat racks, beds and frames. The more successful of these object was a small bookcase for a desktop. In the years that followed a wooden folding chair called Sedia 1993 was the only item produced with the spirit of the wood laboratory. The intention was to make a lovely, and easily movable, folding chair for everyday use, which did not need to be hidden and used only in case of emergency. Even though it was criticised commercially, it has always been produced in natural wood, unpainted not even waxed in synthesis with the idea that wood develops its own natural beauty with the patina of use. Sedia 1993, Michele De Lucchi, pencil on paper, 2003