Brace

A locally produced, low-carbon bar stool.

Client: a local client with strong sustainability credentials

Services: Product Design, Design for Manufacture, circular design

Impact: 37.7kg CO₂e saved vs. an equivalent imported specification

Brief: Bar stools are typically sourced overseas, carrying a hidden carbon cost that rarely gets questioned. This client was building a new flagship building and wanted a centrepiece that reflected their values - functional, locally made, and demonstrably better for the environment. The challenge was to design a stool that could be fabricated using only local manufacturers, suitable for low-volume production and made the sustainability story visible to the people using it.

The Approach

The design constraint became the concept. By committing to straight steel tube only (no bending, no complex forming) the design could be handed directly to a local fabricator without specialist tooling or setup cost. The bent laminated pine plywood seat was engineered so its curvature meets the legs exactly perpendicular, meaning every steel tube is cut straight and the exposed tube tops sit flush against the ply as a deliberate detail rather than a compromise.

With the steel fabricator capable of powder coating in house, colour palettes can be bespoke, offering an opportunity to align colour to the brand. 

Material sourcing was scoped to a local steel fabricator and a regional sawmill (with a specialism in producing premium local plywood) keeping the supply chain tight, the lead times short, and the carbon footprint measurable.

The Outcome

A costed, production-ready design optimised for local low-volume manufacture. Carbon analysis showed a potential saving of 641kg CO₂e compared to an equivalent imported specification across a run of just 17 stools - a figure that becomes a talking point in itself.

The project did not proceed to production, but the design is fully resolved and ready to manufacture.