STEP STOOL

MATERIALS: Ash wood - matte lacquer 

Our product is inspired by the Shaker step stools but also by a traditional Norwegian category: a stool crossing over to step stool. The popular name in Norwegian translates to the somewhat outdated name "wife-enhancer" in English - for reasons that need no further explanation. The Shakers liberated their space and kept things in order by hanging their artifacts on the wall. Another way of saving space is to combine more than one function into one object. Our product serves as a step stool with an elongated handle to support you when reaching for those far-away kitchen cabinets. And the seat should be just about high enough to serve as an extra seat around your kitchen table. We also picture our product in a hallway or in a bedroom.

We also found great inspiration in Shaker object like the various wood handles of the Shaker-tools but also in particular from a very elegant hay fork we spotted in the brick dwelling at Hancock.

WOOL THROWS

MATERIALS: 100% pure Norwegian Lambswool

DIMENSIONS: 55"W x 79"L

These throws are woven in the mountain town of Røros right in the middle of Norway. In our opinion the Shaker textile tradition is not the most outstanding we've ever come across - their basketry however, is and these throws are inspired by shaker basketry.

WOOD BOWLS

MATERIALS: Stained Ash Wood

DIMENSIONS: 8.5"W x 4"H

During our stay at The Hancock Shaker Village there was also an auction of Shaker artifacts taking place at the same time. One of the items that caught our attention was a small and highly decorative rug. In many ways it felt very atypical compared to the rather austere and no-nonsense attitude of the Shaker culture as a whole. Maybe this is why we wanted to use this rug as a starting point for a new object. It possessed a joyful ornamentation that we also could find in the Shaker Gift Drawings. Our bowl is a 3D-translation from the 2D rug.

WOOD TRAY

MATERIALS: Ash or Maple wood, beeswax

DIMENSIONS: 3"L x 5"W x 7"H

The back-storage at the Hancock Shaker Village is full of beautifully crafted wooden tools and molds. More often than not we had to ask our guide Leslie what the purpose of this originally had been. We find there is a certain preciousness to sculptured solid wood that is difficult to define in text. Our Wood Tray is inspired by a mitten mold at Hancock – like a helping hand holding small things like keys, credit cards, sunglasses, or pistachios.