
Benchmark introduces the Smile Stool by Jaime Hayon launching in line with Madrid Design Festival from 12 Feb – 31 Mar 2021
Designed by Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayon for leading British furniture maker Benchmark, the Smile Stool is a joyful and expressive piece of furniture which adds a playful touch to home offices.
Celebrating the age-old traditions of craftsmanship in everyday objects, the Smile Stool combines durability and careful detailing with a generous materiality that imbues a wonderful tactility and warmth within each piece.
Crafted at Benchmark’s UK workshops from solid American cherry, the soft geometry of the seat and gently curved profile of the underside invites touch. The playful ‘Smile’ doubles as the stool’s carrying handle, while the natural grain of the timber adds to the character and expressive design of the face.
“We must all remember to Smile – it makes us happier, healthier and more hopeful”, says Jaime of the design. The simplicity of its form demands perfect execution of construction and craft.
Having completed Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of the piece, it has a carbon footprint of (-1.97 kg CO2 equivalent) – making it better than carbon neutral. This means the carbon stored in the American cherry exceeds all carbon emissions during the processing of the timber and production of the stool, making it demonstrably sustainable.
With a sense of longevity, this expressive piece of furniture provokes feelings of joy at a time when we all need a bit of positivity.
The Smile Stool is available now via benchmarkfurniture.com as well as at the Benchmark showroom, select partners and design stores internationally.
Images courtesy of Benchmark