As a creator, there is no better than Adam Goodrum, an icon of the Australian design community. With his latest furniture collection, Goodrum has excelled on every level, conceiving Voom in collaboration with Tait.

Voom was launched in Melbourne last week and, over one day and three sessions, Gordon and Susan Tait, founder and creative director at Tait, Adam Goodrum, principal at Adam Goodrum Studio and Sarah Fox, international brands manager at James Dunlop Textiles, talked about the processes that were involved to realise the range from concept and manufacture through to fabric selection. This same format will also take place in Sydney on 30^th March at Tait’s showroom in Waterloo.

This is a collection that is so, so beautiful, incredibly versatile and super comfortable for both outside and inside living. Voom comprises lounge chair, an ottoman and coffee and side tables. Various configurations can be employed to suit all requirements, with chairs combined side by side to compose a sofa, the ottoman included as a corner to an L-shaped grouping, a chair and ottoman joined can become a lounger and higher side tables and a coffee table bring each setting together.

“The versatility and modularity of Voom is a departure from existing collections within the Tait range, with pieces designed to stand alone as a single armchair and multiples creating different lengths and arrangements to suit diverse outdoor spaces,” says Goodrum.

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While Voom is an outdoor range, the design is perfectly at home inside as well, with voluptuous curves, ultimate comfort and a sophisticated retro-like aesthetic.

Voom has been made to withstand the harsh Australian conditions with a metal base and plush upholstered, removable covers. The fabric for Voom comes from Mokum, who partnered with Tait for the collection, and its Sole Boucle and Elba ranges combine durability for outside living with a palette of natural hues.

“The Voom collection in its un-upholstered form sits in the garden as both a functional sofa and sunlounge and a sculptural object, where beautiful light and shadow fall on the sheet metal’s opposing planes,” says Goodrum. “When the cushion is attached, the roll design has a retro language to contrast with the linear sheet metal and provides a relaxed comfort through the material selection.”

The Voom chairs and ottoman are refined and elegantly formed but even without the covers the sculptural forms are akin to an art installation with fluid and expressive lines. This collection has been manufactured to the highest level, as are all Tait’s products, with an anti-corrosion base coat and two further coatings over the sheet metal to ensure each piece can weather the elements. Outdoor foam and fabric for the covers complete the design and whatever the grouping, Voom is certain to become a new icon for both designer and manufacturer.

Perhaps the last word should come from Gordon Tait, founding director at Tait: “The Voom collection transcends indoor-outdoor living. It’s quite retro. It’s like it’s had a past life. A modern classic.”

Tait
madebytait.com.au

Adam Goodrum
adamgoodrum.com

Photography
Derek Swalwell

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