Umbra Mate Chessmen
Here is a very attractive chess set by Umbra called Umbra Mate. The pieces are solid metal with black felts. The colours are nickel and black. Set up on a board, the pieces merge into a modern art sculpture with a clear design statement towards minimalism.
Umbra is a Canadian enterprise which was founded in 1979 by Paul Rowan and Les Mandelbaum. In more than 40 years as design professional, Paul Rowan has designed more than 1,000 products. His works are showcased in museums all over the world. Les Mandelbaum was born in Toronto, Canada in 1951. Initially, he pursued a career in music, after attending Antioch College in Ohio, majoring in music and sociology. On their website, the American Marketing Association Toronto gives the following information about the start of the Umbra enterprise:
"In 1979 Mandelbaum and his childhood friend Rowan turned a decorating dilemma into an innovative product. This predicament began the journey to Umbra’s success as a leading brand for contemporary home accessories: Unable to find an acceptable alternative to the mundane selection of window shades then available, Rowan created his own design and approached Mandelbaum with the idea. The two discovered that there was enough positive response from the design community at their very first display at the Chicago Housewares Show back in 1979, and from Canadian retailers, to create a new company. ‘Umbra’, derived from the Latin word for shade or shadow, was born."
The company still exists and is trading in modern design household goods and furniture. Umbra is working with an internal 30-strong design team and additional external contract designers. The Umbra Mate chessmen were designed by David Quan, who is a senior designer at Umbra, and Matt Carr, who is Umbra's Vice President Design. Umbra is still selling two types of chess sets, the Buddy chess set and the Wobble chess set. The Umbra Mate chessmen are no longer on offer and it seems that they were only produced in a rather small number, which makes them somewhat rare.
The board is not original to the pieces.
