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Another piece of mid-century design is now in re-release by the Vitra Design Museum.
In 1954 Japanese designer Sori Yanagi fashioned the Elephant Stool from fiberglass-reinforced polyester making it the first all- plastic stool in the history of design.
Yanagi, finding himself in need of a sturdy seat for the model-makers he hired at his studio. He wished for a lightweight, efficient, indoor /outdoor stool, and the bonus; stackable due to the small nature of his studio. The result was the design for this three legged stool.
The nick-name, Elephant Stool, was brought on by the smooth curved surface, a design which contrasted to Yanagi's plywood Butterfly Stool. This re-issue is manufactured from injected-molded polypropylene in black, red, gray and white.
?We have been working on the Elephant stool for a year and a half with Sori Yanagi. We already produce his Butterfly stool. This is a stackable three-legged design from 1954 that was originally made in fiberglass and only available in black and white. We?re bringing it back in an injection-molded plastic. It hasn?t been in production for about 20 years, except for a reedition by Habitat about six years ago, but Yanagi was not happy with the quality. We asked Yanagi to develop a color range. It?s a relatively inexpensive plastic stool that looks very nice if you have a stack of different colors.?
-Eckart Maise, Managing Director of the Products Division,Vitra Design Museum |
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