Adi Goodrich debuts Sing-Thing with a whimsical line of sculptural furniture

“A small-batch line of sculptural furniture that would dance if it could” is how Los Angeles-based spatial designer Adi Goodrich defines Sing-Thing. Known for her lively and surrealist large-scale set design, art installations, sculptures, and interior design, Goodrich returns to her whimsical world of furniture design with the new line. "Picture a wet Sophie Taeuber-Arp painting that's fallen on top of a Charlotte Perriand table — that’s the soul of Sing-Thing," says Goodrich. Sing-Thing’s first collection, ‘The Frunchroom’ debuted online on November 2022. In the limited yet vibrant colour palette, the collection is said to be a heartfelt homage to the silhouettes, materials, and character of Goodrich’s most treasured influences from the French L’Esprit Nouveau movement to Lina, a cherished memory of the lovely Italian lady, who inspired good living.

The name of the collection owes its roots to a playful reference to the south-side word, " Frunchroom," which is defined as the front room in someone’s home that houses all of the family’s best moments, most prized possessions, and happiest times. Taking shape from cherry wood and laminate, the collection comprises tables, chairs, side tables, lamps, a vase, a mirror and a reading chair. The rectangular and circular tables are named The Lina Coffee Table and The Dorothy Daisy Table respectively. Duality Dining Chair, with its conventional form, adds a playful quotient with the contrast of linearity and curves.

The Sketti Side Table has legs in A and S shapes, adding a whimsical appeal to the product design. In the lamp design, Goodrich adopts minimalism and shapes the Egg Pendant and Egg Lamp through the diverse use of circles in different dimensions. The Not a Knot Vase was designed in collaboration with ceramicist Becki Chernoff and imbues a child-like wonder in the viewer’s mind—incomplete, imperfect and therefore in a continuum. Appearing to have taken birth in a doll house owned by an adult, The Juju mirror console has intriguing detailing for a piece of small furniture. Concluding this series of collectable furniture is The Reading Chair which appears to be in the silhouette of a rocking chair and is sarcastically defined as 'a reading chair that is not a rocking chair.' Though the collection is reminiscent of the Bauhaus style, the irony lies in the juxtaposition of functionality.

"Inspired by and made for creative types, Sing-Thing is an offbeat celebration of artful, anti-capitalist objects — the production process is honest and local and the results are full of certitude and glee," states the official release. Bringing this principle to the production of the ‘The Frunchroom,’ each piece in the collection is born from sheet material of a defined size that’s handled, cut, and cared for by Goodrich along with a small team of collaborators at her Los Angeles studio. Raised in a woodshop alongside her father, an architectural restorer and antiques dealer, it is no wonder that her strong belief is that “hands should make all of the things in our homes.” The pieces from the collection will also follow this principle and will only be made in limited quantities, while the overall process will be slow and steady.

“I wanted to create a furniture line that was rooted in clever efficiency, using pre-cut 4' x 8' sheets and then assembling all the pieces in my studio — a small yet mighty 8’x10’ space that's hardly bigger than a full sheet of plywood. I call it my female Enzo Mari approach in reference to Autoprogettazione, his book about user-made furniture using ubiquitous materials like pre-milled pine boards and plywood,” shares Goodrich.

Goodrich’s history with craftsmanship and story-telling through design is long. Her debut in the furniture design realm entails years of experience working in the art and design industry. Her creative career includes a surrealist boutique called DREAMS, a cinematic shop of provisions named Wine & Eggs, Life on Marz Community Club in Chicago and the upcoming headquarters for the Flamingo Estate. “As a set designer, you often only make things that stay on the screen or a billboard. So, for me, I wanted to create something for the public to have in their homes. It’s like fashion’s ‘Ready to Wear’ – perhaps Sing-Thing is 'Ready to Live,’” adds the designer, who throughout his career had donned multiple hats.