It's A Stool. It's A Chair. It's A Chool! New Seating From Slam.

above: The Max Chool, shown open in Slice with walnut panels



The Chool is a new concept in modern seating. A combination stool and a chair in one (hence the name), designed by James Lucas for Slam. The Chool is available in 2 sizes; the Standard (500x500x500cm in stool mode) - a lightweight compact design without arms or the Max (600x600x600cm in stool mode) - an armchair style with a larger backrest.


above: the Standard style is shown with walnut side pods and the max style in a textured orange fabric by Kvadrat.

Both are made predominantly with laser cut aluminum components. Each with be available in various fabric and color options.

The Standard, open and closed and with and without walnuts side panels:

The Standard, closed and open:

The Standard, open as a chair:

The Standard, closed as a stool:

The Max, closed and open in Kvadrat orange fabric:

The Max, open as a chair:

The Max, closed as a stool:


More angles of both Standard and Max Chools:


the press release:
Slam is very proud to announce the launch of Chool - a new concept in seating. What makes it so different? Chool is an innovation in active seating that seamlessly adapts its form depending on how it is being used.

We know very well what is required of a chair when someone is sitting on it. Perfect ergonomics, a comfortable seat and supportive backrest. However, when not in use these attributes are no longer necessary. This led designer, James Lucas, to explore what can be done with the form of the chair when not in use.

Daily we are lucky enough to encounter beautiful design demonstrated in seating products around the world. All of these products fit in to categories. For example, the armchair, couch, chair and stool are forms we are all familiar with.

Chool is a new standard in seating design. It offers the new ability to drastically alter the look of any environment that requires chairs, whilst also offering the excitement of fluid, dynamic movement. This results in a highly memorable experience for the user.

At rest Chool is compact and unassuming. When sat upon the seat pod slowly descends a few inches to a standard seat height. This action seamlessly operates some clever bits tucked away inside that smoothly, vertically deploys a backrest and chool transforms from its stool-like form into a chair. Thus providing reactive support in accordance with the users needs.

When no longer in use, Chool automatically returns to its original compact form. Unlike any other chair, Chool has the ability to be easily stowed under tables and desks. This offers clear access to the surface, an uncluttered skyline and in turn removes any trip hazards. Chool requires no external power or batteries to operate and can be locked in any position at the touch of a button.

Chool will be officially launched at London Design Week in September and has been specially selected to feature on the Hidden Art exhibition stand along with other innovations in seating design.

Chool is designed and made in the UK.

50 limited edition
Slam is currently receiving orders on a limited edition batch of 50 Chools especially for Design Week. Each Chool from this batch will come with official certification. Today 19 of this batch are still available.


About Slam:


James Lucas founded Slam in 2007 and originally focused his energy on designing doors that were out of the ordinary such as the 'ThreeStyle', a door with 3 openings one inside the other and ‘Flow’, a door purely made of cascading water that ceases as the user approaches. As a designer, Lucas enjoys creating interactive designs that do something that you wouldn't expect them to. Chool is another example of his innovative contemporary retro style, which combines his love of mixing clean, crisp modern surfaces with natural materials.


For further information on Chool please contact:
James Lucas or Amy Baker on 0845 094 9081 or email lowdown@slam.co
Web site www.slam.co (the site is currently being built, and yes, just '.co' - it’s a new domain extension)

Steel, Wood & Acrylic Coffee Tables from Square Root Industries

In 2009, Todd Leowy founded Square Root Industries in Portland, Oregon. He combined his design sensibilities and creativity with an engineering degree, and as a result designs and fabricates high-end modern furniture for both commercial and residential clients.

His coffee table collection for Square Root Industries combines laser cut steel in white, black, or powder coated colors (and sometimes photography) with various woods and is then covered with a clear acrylic top, creating uniquely modern mixed medium pieces of functional furniture. With all their pieces, you can customize top design, size, and color.

Square Root Industries Coffee Table Collection:



















Computer sketches of some of the options combining white or black steel and woods:





Other designs utilize color or photography:






You can also have custom designs created for you.

About Square Root Industries:


With a foundation built on creativity and engineering, Square Root Industries blurs the line which too often separates art and function. By combining multiple mediums including metal, wood, acrylic, photography, powder coating, and glass, each table mixes colors and imagery to create a unique and functional piece of furniture. Each table is designed and fabricated in Portland, Oregon and can be customized to fit your design needs.

You can purchase the above and/or custom tables at their etsy store.

When Computers And Classics Collide: Sebastian Brajkovic's Lathe Furniture

SEBASTIAN BRAJKOVIC

Last Spring, Carpenters Workshop Gallery had a showing of Sebastian Brajkovic's collection of work, entitled Lathe. The exhibit consisted of a series of several chairs and one aluminum table, all of which combine classic furniture design with computer inspired 'stretching' to create a modern interpretation of antique style furniture.

The work is so innovative and unusual that one of the pieces from the exhibition, Lathe VIII, has even been entered into the prestigious permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

"They are called Lathe because of the apparent rotating effect of the design. In fact the word Lathe comes from the Latin word used to convey the idea of milk being stirred. My very first thought with making this design was actually a practical one. I wanted to create more space on a singular chair by “extruding” the seat’s surface area." says Sebastian.



The artist continues "This extruding idea came from a Photoshop function where you can pick a row of pixels and extend them as long as you want. This modern computer method aided me to devise new ways of sketching as a contradictory partner in my design process. In this paradoxical sense, using antique forms was the next logical step."



His artistic process starts by deconstructing historical pieces of furniture, in particular seventeenth-century chairs, then through a combination of wood carving, bronze casting and hand embroidering, he reconstructs an entirely new vision, as you can see from the pieces below.

Lathe I:



Above: Lathe I, 2008
H 85 L 114 W 114 cm
Bronze, embroidered upholstery
Edition of 8


Lathe II:



Above: Lathe II, 2008
H 100 L 102 W 62 cm
Bronze, embroidered upholstery
Edition of 8

Lathe III:


Above: Lathe III, 2006
H 94 L 74 W 67 cm
Bronze, hand embroidered
Edition of 8

Usually the materials or forms I use are from products that already proved themselves as worthy. Like the lathe chair series for instance, the forms are used from old chairs, these old chairs lay easy on the eye because they are recognizable, in a way they are accepted. If I want to explain a chair that looks like its moving, it will explain itself better when you recognize the old and familiar chair in it.
---- Sebastian Brajkovic

Lathe V (in various color versions):









Above: Lathe V, 2007
H 94 L 94 W 54 cm
Bronze, hand embroidered
Edition 8

Lathe VIII (shown below) adopts the idea of the traditional love seat, which is created by connecting two baroque-style chairs by an extruded backrest. The elaborate embroidery on the upholstery of the backrest is a significant element of this work. The regular overlapping of the outline across the entire width of the backrest creates the impression of movement which is reminiscent of super slow-motion shots á la Matrix. Brajkovic accordingly seems to integrate the moment of morphing, the element of time as a fourth dimension, into the object.






Above: Lathe VIII, 2008
H 105 L 140 W 85 cm
Bronze with nitric-acid burned patina and needle stitched embroidered fabric
Edition of 8

Made of aluminium, the Lathe Table is quite literally created by being turned on a real lathe. In this incarnation however, the chisel carves aluminum directly instead of the traditional wood. The evocative sense of movement is conveyed in the spinning lines of the quasi vortex, offering the past impression of a moment of great movement and now stillness. Inspired originally by a child’s spinning top, whizzing around at high speed, it has the same illusion that once at its optimal speed it is no longer moving but standing up straight. The highly polished surface is a product of the lathe turning technique which polishes as it carves the metal. He explains that whereas the Lathe Chairs are more like painting, in that modifications can be made during the production process, the Lathe Table is a one step process which is an honest and direct application of the Lathe concept.

The Lathe Table:





Above: Lathe Table, 2008
H 30 L 119 W 119 cm
lathe turned aluminium
Edition of 8

About the designer:
Sebastian Brajkovic was born 18th September 1975 in Amsterdam from a Dutch-Indonesian mother and a Croatian-Italian father.

After completing a course in cabinetmaking at school he applied for both the Rietveldt and Designacademy being torn between an art and design education. He chose the Designacademy with a view to make art that wanted to be design or visa versa. He studied under Gijs Bakker, Hella Jongerius and Jurgen Bey. He continues his studies in philosophy at the University of Utrecht. He carried out an invaluable internship at Jurgen Bey's studio. In June 2006 Brajkovic graduated with the "Lathe Chairs" and "Home Grown" projects.

The above pieces, if not yet sold, are available for purchase from:
The Carpenters Workshop Gallery,
3 albemerale street, london w1s 4he

special thanks to Spazio Rossana Orlandi and Dezeen for some additional images.