The Obelisk- One Cool Patio Set
During my project at DiGi last year, it was the norm for my Portuguese colleagues to get a cuppa espresso after lunch everyday. We’d walk from ‘Reload’ (their in-house cafeteria run by Mr. Ho’s Fine Foods) to the outdoor foyer where they’d purchase their espresso from the bakery whilst I get my 5 minutes daily dose of TheSun npp.
We usually sat on the ‘Obelisk‘, a beautiful dark grey patio set by Dedon. What’s amazing about the Obelisk is that it can be stacked vertically- leaving a small storage footprint- into a physical piece of art in the shape of what else, but an Obelisk. It’s made from durable plastic interwoven like the rattan chairs you would find at your grandparents’ house 15 years ago. Extremely lightweight and doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out how to stack the set.
Click here for a pic of the DiGi office with the Obelisk visible in the background, found on brokenscrew.blogspot.com
Derailing off topic…
In case you didn’t already know, DiGi’s headquarters (known as D’House) in Subang Hi-Tech is an ultra-modern facility with contemporary furnishings and modern abstract art hung all over the place. Click here to visit ‘just minishorts’ blog post with pics of the facility.
Back to the Obelisk…
I haven’t seen any local retail stores carrying this set but I soon figured out why after finding this post on TreeHugger- it costs a whopping USD$8,922!!! For plastic? Yeah yeah, the concept’s really cool but I need a maid more than I need an outdoor set. Maid = RM800; Obelisk = USD8,922 x 3.2 = RM28,550.40 = 35.6 mths (round up/approx 3 years) of maid’s wages!!!
Ahh… but there are alternatives available locally. I saw a set which spots the exact same concept at Homelife (Lorong Seputeh branch) called ‘Aralyn‘. Also made of interwoven durable plastic, the major difference is that it stacks not to form the shape of an obelisk but instead, takes the form of a large vase/urn. Build quality is evidently not as fine as that of Dedon’s Obelisk but still would be a conversational and practical space saving set to own. Price tag= RM 4,999 (yes, half a year of maid’s wages). I was not allowed to take a picture of the set. Perhaps they fear that I may suddenly possess handyman qualities and all the necessary industrial tools to produce a similar set and siphon off their sales of Aralyn sets?!?!?!
I remember seeing a similar set at G.D.O so you can check it out over there as well if you’re interested in a stackable yet artistic patio set.
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July 22nd, 2008 at 12:10 am
They look very similar to the ones at the Heritage Mansion outdoor area. I don’t know bout you, but I didn’t find them very comfortable except when you’re sitting on your own. Obviously the bigger ones can fit more than one ass, but because of the curve of the backrest, you constantly have to use your legs or hands to keep yourself upright.
Also, if you notice, the two smaller chairs have an inward angled base, which proved pretty “dangerous”! If there’s no one else sharing the chair ie. putting their weight on it, when you lean forward the chair will lean forward too because it’s so light!
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:12 am
Hi Junyi. For the ones at the Heritage Mansion, are you talking about the Obelisk or Aralyn? The set is meant for one person per chair really though on the obelisk, you can fit two pretty easily but then because of the curved back, two will not be able to lean back comfortably. However, during my days at DiGi, i never had any problems with the Obelisk and rate it as a highly well built set.