Inspired by the strength of the apple crates he played on as a child, Frank Gehry created his thoroughly original Gehry Collection (1990) of bentwood furniture for Knoll. Paying homage to his Canadian roots, he named the pieces after ice hockey terms. One of those designs, the Gehry Cross Check Armchair, implements wafer-thin strips of laminated maple into featherweight yet sturdy forms, evoking the simple strength and resilience of hockey sticks themselves.