SOLD Mid Century Rodney Kinsman OMK Three Seater Sofa Black Leather Vintage Retro MCM

New Stock ✅

Mid Century Rodney Kinsman OMK Three Seater Sofa Black Leather Vintage Retro MCM

Dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s this incredible sofa was designed by Rodney Kinsman and manufactured by OMK in England.

This particular sofa was purchased in 1973 from Habitat, here pictured in the catalogue dating from that year.

The frames are made from chrome plated steel tubes, with new Pirelli rubber webbing on the seats and black leather cushions with zips.

Founded in 1965 by Rodney Kinsman, OMK designed and manufactured much of the furniture sold through Terence Conran’s Habitat stores in the 1960’s and 70’s.

A key figure in the high-tech design movement, Kinsman’s products are now regarded as icons of 20th century British design.

Dimensions
Height - 71cm
Width - 180cm
Depth - 81cm
Seat Height - 40cm

Rodney Kinsman studied furniture design at the Central School of Art in London. Together with Jurek Olejnik and Bryan Morrison, he founded OMK Design in 1966 to make the furniture they designed.

Among the first designs launched by OMK was Rodney Kinsman's 1966 ‘F Range’ chair, a block of foam plastic covered in vinyl. This typical 1960s piece of furniture may be regarded as Rodney Kinsman's most obviously stylish design; later he would concentrate on designing furniture which would remain popular because of their technical construction.

In 1971 Rodney Kinsman designed the enormously successful ‘Omstak’ chair with a tubular steel frame, seat and back of molded sheet steel coated with epoxy resin. The quirky holes in the seat and back actually make the chair more stable. Regarded as the epitome of 1970s high-tech design, the ‘Omstak’ chair is still made by the Italian firm of Bieffeplast.

Another design Rodney Kinsman did for Bieffeplast is the 1981 ‘Graffiti’ shelving system, which is simply leaned against the wall; rubber beneath it prevents it from slipping. In the 1980s, Rodney Kinsman produced pieces that were at the opposite extreme to the colorful and exuberantly decorative anti-design produced by Memphis and others. The Rodney Kinsman 1980s designs were informed by a rationalist aesthetic. They include the ‘Vienna’ chair Rodney Kinsman designed in 1984 as well as the 1985 ‘Tokyo’ line.

In 1981 Rodney Kinsman and Peter Glynn-Smith co-designed the ‘Transit’ seating system for public buildings. Originally intended for Gatwick Airport, ‘Transit’, like the ‘Sevilla’ row seating (1991: designed for Expo '92), has been an extremely successful seat furniture system and more than a hundred airports and other buildings are equipped with these systems.

In 1983 Rodney Kinsman became a Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers and, in 1988, an Honorary Fellow des Royal College of Art.

For any questions please message us on WhatsApp +447590146893 or please call us and follow us on Instagram @relicsofretro

National and international delivery is available at an extra cost which we can organise on your behalf.

Collection in person is welcome. We are West of Cambridge in Bourn CB23.
Please message before purchasing to confirm delivery costs.

Please note that vintage furniture may have some slight imperfections, which is to be expected in keeping with its age, as we do not offer returns on items sold.