Sarah, the young lady from the UK who designed this "Rocking Piano" (yes, that' her in the picture) sent me an email asking if I'd be interested in some information about her piano.
I said of course I was.
We exchanged a few more emails (she's a very interesting person, and now she's a member of the Piano Forums), and I finally asked her to just describe in her own words how it came to be...
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Sarah Davenport explains the inspiration and motivation to creating Chichi, the Dream Boat, launched at Londons Designersblock this year.
The core concept of Chichi - The Rocking Piano Boat was conceived at the Milan Furniture Show. Frustrated with the lack of soul I found in the majority of designs there whilst being inspired by the work of individuals such as Marcel Wanders I set out to create a design which could speak.
I wanted the design to communicate the value of making dreams happen rather than opting for whatever is easiest or quickest and so decided to create my dream... something. As I have played the piano since I was three years old, utilising it to escape from reality, this was the obvious choice to begin with as a basis.
I realised that when playing the piano - true music which evokes is not created by simply placing fingers on keys - but working with something - a force to communicate thoughts and feelings and to feed the soul. After much deep consideration (and many nights spent playing, trying to work out what exactly I was playing to) I realised that this force is actually your other persona - the other you. The mirror was introduced to reflect this fact and when playing chichi - you can visually work with 'you' playing back in the mirror. The character, sound and message of the piano changes according to the player, allowing a fluidity of 'soul' which anybody can become a part of. On a spectator basis, the face of the piano changes according to the player or players.
I also wanted to add to the experience of playing - to allow the other you to physically give something back and to strengthen the cohesion between piano and pianist - create a feeling of oneness, which is where the movement was introduced. Many had fun rocking and laughing but serious players I found utilised the motion when they wanted more energy to give back to the music.
Finally I wanted to create a design which would nurture and communicate the myriad of strong human emotions we so easily forget in our busy daily lives. Both at the Pre-launch and the Launch at Designersblock, we found Chichi acted as a canvas for whatever people wanted to get out of their system and spoke more powerfully than a thousand words. Laughter and tears, love, frustration and deep sadness played themselves out for all to see.
We found the key to Chichi communicating fully was allowing spontenaiety to occur - when Amulet at arrived at Designersblock out of the blue and started to play a complex fusion of emotions for over four hours it seemed that the piano had consumed her entirely - using her as a vehicle to communicate its own self.
The piano is early 1900s, originally belonging to the Ambassador of Hong Kong, and the Boat Made of Mirrored effect and Veneered Canadian Rock Maple. I wanted to begin the look of Chichi as simply as possible - overcomplicating materials or styles would have confused the message.
As people explained to me what Chichi stood for - I realised I had achieved my original mission - the creation of a design which could speak.
This concept was originally produced to inspire - and although I was pleased by the massive amount of interest it has raised, I am very aware that any commercially orientated route must not compromise the designs integrity, rendering its message void. I am currently talking to a few personalities on the possibility of creating a limited edition of collaborative chichis - no more than five completely unique pieces I would create directly with the owner.
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I also asked her a few questions about the piano inside the design, her answers...
Who made the piano itself (brand)? - I'll forward that to you - it used to belong to a previous ambassador of hong kong many years ago which struck a chord when we realised on the last day of Designersblock that Amulet is actually from Hong Kong - magical
How well does it hold its tune after being rocked so much? Surprisingly well - although the piano itself was bought before the concept was even begun it happens to have an automatic tuning device - Chichi was tuned in Nottingham prior to Unleashed but then not again after her travel to London (4 hour journey) or for that week -after being partied on and played (roughly) non-stop for 6 days though she did sound a little ropey (especially after Amulets angry day) and was tuned again prior to her showing at the business awards.
What size was the piano itself before you added the rocker components? -
Baby grand - haven't precise measurements but can get hold of them - she is now 1500x3000 (the boys in the workshop describe her as owning an ample bottom!)
How do you move it? (obviously typical grands have their legs removed and are tipped on their sides). My cabinetmakers have turned this into an art form - she is whinched from the van then carried on a trolley
Where will its final home be? Wherever she finally chooses!
http://www.inspirationunleashed.co.uk www.davcab.co.uk www.britishdesign.co.uk Some YouTube videos of ChiChi being played (quality isn't great, Sarah has promised some better videos)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8bwumD2pzM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gLbGh8dJtE Sarah and Martin playing ChiChi
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I'd love to try it out.
Wow Frank, you old sea dog! You've got quite a flair for attracting beautiful women. I'm jealous. Very impressive! 
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