When a chair is more than a chair
Words: Suzanne McNamara
Photography:
Good Form is what happens when a furniture store decides to throw a party for the senses. Housed in a lofty warehouse with a gallery's eye for presentation, it's a place where vintage treasures rub shoulders with the latest design icons. One moment you're admiring bold artworks, the next you're running your hands over Danish teak birds or Zaha Hadid candle holders. Even the children's toys - crafted by architects moonlighting on the side - feel like objets d'art.
At the centre of it all are Dan and Emma Eagle, life and business partners whose first venture, the vintage-focused Mr. Bigglesworthy, quickly became a cult favourite. Their 2025 move to Newton Road united both businesses under one generous roof, making it easier for customers to explore the full range. As Emma puts it, the pairing of old and new isn't just convenient - it makes each side better, richer, and more considered.
Wind back to 2013. Dan and Emma's foray into furniture began with a chair - not just one, but 300 utilitarian mid-century Storkline chairs snapped up on TradeMe for three dollars each in Whangarei. Dan, then an accountant with a passion for object history, had simply been hunting for a few chairs for his flat. But when he saw the bulk lot, he ran the numbers. "Worst-case scenario, they're worth three dollars each, so I won't lose money - just have the hassle of selling them. And maybe they're worth more?" he figured. He called in a favour from his dad, who hooked up the trailer for the pick-up. "He thought I was absolutely crazy," Dan laughs. "He even said he could burn the chairs for me."
Back in Auckland, Dan split the chairs into two TradeMe listings: antiques and mid-century retro. Instead of describing them as "old chairs with chips and cobwebs," he reframed the pitch. "I called them 'beautiful chairs with patina' - just changing the narrative." He shot them with a DSLR using a shallow depth of field, so they popped on the page.
The retro listing proved gold. Prices climbed to around $250 a chair, and the lot steadily sold. "It was a fascinating experiment," Dan says.
The experience cemented a core belief for the couple: anyone can sell a chair, but it's the story behind it that creates value. "People don't really need more products," Dan says. "We're surrounded by stuff, and furniture is affordable. There has to be something more - a narrative that connects with you."
The chair experiment lit a spark. Dan began studying object design, exploring the history, context, and intangible qualities that made certain pieces special. "I started doing what I was passionate about," he says. "I wanted to understand the conceptual elements of value in objects - and move away from this disposable culture where we just use something and throw it away."
Emma says Dan's fascination with objects had always been there, even when he was buried in spreadsheets as a financial accountant. With his research and her creative eye - Emma has a Fine Arts degree from Ilam - the couple saw an opportunity to turn their passion into a business. In 2013, Mr. Bigglesworthy was born. They split the workload in a way that played to their strengths: Dan sources and oversees the restoration of each vintage find; Emma curates the collection, manages the gallery presentation, and sells to customers in-store.
Ironically, it was chairs that sparked their next venture, Good Form. Vintage dining chairs were always in short supply - especially full sets. "Once you get over six and you're looking for eight or ten matching chairs, they're rare," Emma explains. "We thought it would be good if we had a more consistent supply to offer."
They began approaching furniture and object brands whose vintage pieces they'd already sold. "We knew they were still being made and sold as new," Emma says. "It was a fairly easy process to adopt those brands."
Good Form launched in 2017 with four brands; today, they stock 15 local and international names. Around the same time, new labels like Denmark's Warm Nordics emerged, reissuing heritage designs alongside fresh work from young, emerging designers. The mix fitted perfectly with Dan and Emma's philosophy, and soon they had outgrown their Ponsonby location.
When Dan spotted a run-down warehouse for lease on Newton Road complete with parking - the move felt right. The landlord offered a six-month rent break to renovate, and they transformed the tired building into a crisp, bright-white space, with bold modern lettering spelling Good Form across its façade. Being next door to Starkwhite, a fixture of New Zealand's art scene, sealed the deal. "It just had a cool vibe," Dan says. "Next to Starkwhite, and with other things happening in the area, there was enough here for us to make the transition."
Mr. Bigglesworthy remains the vintage arm of the business, with its own website, but Good Form now takes the naming rights to the building. The blend is deliberate. "Having new products in a vintage lounge or dining setting improves the look and offers something different," Emma says.
Dan agrees. "We always wanted to do something contemporary with vintage furniture - but it had to be modern-looking. By bringing the two brands together, we give customers a bigger context of what it is to buy something. If it's beautiful and crafted well, in 50 years it will still have value."
For Dan and Emma, good design is more than aesthetics. It's about comfort, connection, and creating spaces that make life better. "We both have this conscious intention to make things better," Dan says. Spend time in Good Form, surrounded by craftsmanship and quality, and you start to feel it too.
At the centre of it all are Dan and Emma Eagle, life and business partners whose first venture, the vintage-focused Mr. Bigglesworthy, quickly became a cult favourite. Their 2025 move to Newton Road united both businesses under one generous roof, making it easier for customers to explore the full range. As Emma puts it, the pairing of old and new isn't just convenient - it makes each side better, richer, and more considered.
Wind back to 2013. Dan and Emma's foray into furniture began with a chair - not just one, but 300 utilitarian mid-century Storkline chairs snapped up on TradeMe for three dollars each in Whangarei. Dan, then an accountant with a passion for object history, had simply been hunting for a few chairs for his flat. But when he saw the bulk lot, he ran the numbers. "Worst-case scenario, they're worth three dollars each, so I won't lose money - just have the hassle of selling them. And maybe they're worth more?" he figured. He called in a favour from his dad, who hooked up the trailer for the pick-up. "He thought I was absolutely crazy," Dan laughs. "He even said he could burn the chairs for me."
Back in Auckland, Dan split the chairs into two TradeMe listings: antiques and mid-century retro. Instead of describing them as "old chairs with chips and cobwebs," he reframed the pitch. "I called them 'beautiful chairs with patina' - just changing the narrative." He shot them with a DSLR using a shallow depth of field, so they popped on the page.
The retro listing proved gold. Prices climbed to around $250 a chair, and the lot steadily sold. "It was a fascinating experiment," Dan says.
The experience cemented a core belief for the couple: anyone can sell a chair, but it's the story behind it that creates value. "People don't really need more products," Dan says. "We're surrounded by stuff, and furniture is affordable. There has to be something more - a narrative that connects with you."
The chair experiment lit a spark. Dan began studying object design, exploring the history, context, and intangible qualities that made certain pieces special. "I started doing what I was passionate about," he says. "I wanted to understand the conceptual elements of value in objects - and move away from this disposable culture where we just use something and throw it away."
Emma says Dan's fascination with objects had always been there, even when he was buried in spreadsheets as a financial accountant. With his research and her creative eye - Emma has a Fine Arts degree from Ilam - the couple saw an opportunity to turn their passion into a business. In 2013, Mr. Bigglesworthy was born. They split the workload in a way that played to their strengths: Dan sources and oversees the restoration of each vintage find; Emma curates the collection, manages the gallery presentation, and sells to customers in-store.
Ironically, it was chairs that sparked their next venture, Good Form. Vintage dining chairs were always in short supply - especially full sets. "Once you get over six and you're looking for eight or ten matching chairs, they're rare," Emma explains. "We thought it would be good if we had a more consistent supply to offer."
They began approaching furniture and object brands whose vintage pieces they'd already sold. "We knew they were still being made and sold as new," Emma says. "It was a fairly easy process to adopt those brands."
Good Form launched in 2017 with four brands; today, they stock 15 local and international names. Around the same time, new labels like Denmark's Warm Nordics emerged, reissuing heritage designs alongside fresh work from young, emerging designers. The mix fitted perfectly with Dan and Emma's philosophy, and soon they had outgrown their Ponsonby location.
When Dan spotted a run-down warehouse for lease on Newton Road complete with parking - the move felt right. The landlord offered a six-month rent break to renovate, and they transformed the tired building into a crisp, bright-white space, with bold modern lettering spelling Good Form across its façade. Being next door to Starkwhite, a fixture of New Zealand's art scene, sealed the deal. "It just had a cool vibe," Dan says. "Next to Starkwhite, and with other things happening in the area, there was enough here for us to make the transition."
Mr. Bigglesworthy remains the vintage arm of the business, with its own website, but Good Form now takes the naming rights to the building. The blend is deliberate. "Having new products in a vintage lounge or dining setting improves the look and offers something different," Emma says.
Dan agrees. "We always wanted to do something contemporary with vintage furniture - but it had to be modern-looking. By bringing the two brands together, we give customers a bigger context of what it is to buy something. If it's beautiful and crafted well, in 50 years it will still have value."
For Dan and Emma, good design is more than aesthetics. It's about comfort, connection, and creating spaces that make life better. "We both have this conscious intention to make things better," Dan says. Spend time in Good Form, surrounded by craftsmanship and quality, and you start to feel it too.