“The furniture should be light and movable and not larger than the purpose requires. Do not assume that a piece of furniture must always stand in the same place, or that it is made for a certain spot. If the furniture is such, that you can move it as needed, you can manage with a much smaller number.”
– Estrid Ericson, 1939
Just like Estrid Ericson, Josef Frank advocated free, flexible interiors that were changeable over time. The easy-to-move stool was therefore an ideal piece of furniture, with an obvious place in every room. The smaller, often neat form allowed a stronger design expression, without compromising the whole room, according to Josef Frank.
Josef Frank began designing stools for his own company Haus und Garten in Austria in the mid-1920s, and during his active years he created a total of about thirty different variants. The most well-known is the round stool numbered 647, which he designed for Svenskt Tenn in 1936. Today, it is available with several different upholstery fabrics in the range, and it can sometimes be found at leading auction houses in Sweden. The stool's ample seat and the cushion's moderate height, in combination with the tapered legs, provide a soft and comfortable design. The secret is the well-balanced proportions, where the diameter and height interact with each other in a harmonious way.
The "Egyptian stool" designed in 1940, the "Tutankhamun stool" from 1941 and the "Button stool" from 1952 are just some of the designs that Josef Frank created during the years at Svenskt Tenn. Like other furniture by Josef Frank, each of them bears a model number, but are mainly associated with their nicknames.
“The furniture should be light and movable and not larger than the purpose requires.”Estrid Ericson
