Last spring, furniture maker Nathan Anthony was the talk of the High Point Market for a product introduction no one could touch. The company’s first furniture NFT, a digital version of chairs from its cryptocurrency-inspired collection, ÆTHR, amazed and confounded attendees of the semi-annual furnishings market.
Now the company has expanded its line of digital collectibles with 12 new seating NFTs created through generative 3D design. The pieces feature unconventional applications of stone, metal, wood and even bath bubbles, to replace typical foam padding and textiles. One design uses CAD parametric animation to create digital artwork inspired by a “wrestling” sea anemone.
“We’re looking at what the future may hold for our signature furniture designs while still keeping our feet firmly planted on the factory floor,” said Nathan Anthony co-founder and designer Tina Nicole, whose primary business is producing custom upholstery for interior designers and high end dealers. “If there’s an incremental opportunity for revenue or to expand our audience, we want to be there.”
The pieces, which range in price from over $200 to more than $1,500 are being sold through OpenSea.io, an NFT marketplace built on the Ethereum blockchain. Nicole will discuss the new collection and Nathan Anthony’s investment in the metaverse during a disruptor panel during the Kitchen & Bath Design Show on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas.
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While the metaverse and NFTs may seem a bit futuristic for some in the home goods business, trend watchers such as Fashion Snoops’ Jaye Anna Mize insist this is the next frontier for home design.
“It really is the next realm of where we go to for home,” she said. “For designers, they’re going to be able to go into the metaverse and create little home scapes.”
Nathan Anthony is betting on that sentiment, and Nicole said the company believes NFTs will help the business expand in the future.
“The next generation of consumers are creating avatars and purchasing virtual products to reflect their personal style in the metaverse,” Nicole added. “That’s a new customer for us, along with the growing audience of digital art collectors.”