12 Oct 2017
Terry Crews partners with Bernhardt Design for luxurious furniture collection
BY Lauren Heath-Jones
Former NFL player and Hollywood actor Terry Crews has created a furniture collection with American furniture company Bernhardt Design.
The Terry Crews Collection, which debuted at ICFF in New York in May, is a modern take on Ancient Egyptian luxury, and consists of five unique pieces: Ibis, Float, Aire, the Lily and Lilypad.
Ibis is a sofa, inspired by the Sacred Ibis found in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, and is designed to resemble the extended wings of a bird. It is available in two sizes, standard and grand.
Float and Aire are a range of tables and benches designed to resemble rocks and pebbles found along the shore of the Nile. They feature an irregular shape to give them the appearance of having been organically shaped over thousands of years. The Float table is available in four different sizes, and is made from American Walnut and features a distinctive bevelled edge. The Aire benches feature an upholstered seat with a saddle stitch cross design across the top and are available in three different sizes.
The Lily is an armchair designed to resemble a blooming lotus flower, while Lilypad is a smaller version of the Lily lounge chair, positioned on a low walnut table. It is designed to mimic the appearance of a lotus flower resting on a lilypad, and was influenced by images of the Egyptian sun god Horus sitting on a blue water lily.
The entire range is available in a variety of customisable upholstery options and finishes.
Crews says: “When I began my collection I was very aware of the significant influence of many modern contemporary designers like Corbusier, Charles and Ray Eames, etc. My mind really started to expand when I began to explore fantasy elements of other cultures. I began asking questions: ‘What if Genghis Khan and Mongolian culture were still the dominant world empire?’ Greater still, ‘What if the empires of ancient Egypt still ruled today?’
“As inspiration for the collection, I settled on ancient Egypt. I began envisioning what modern contemporary furniture would look like if Egypt was the dominant world power: ‘What would an evening in a luxurious, modern Egyptian palace look like?’ I thought about the Nile, the centre and source of life at that time. Everyone wanted to be near the water and design would likely emulate properties which came from the Nile River.”
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