The Swedish furniture designer Thomas Bernstrand has created an outdoor stool that locks up like a supermarket trolley. The idea is to keep parks and public places tidy, and the Swedish coin-operated share stool is an alternative to fixed public seating.
Thomas Bernstrand has studied at Konstfack and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and in Danmarks Designskole in Copenhagen. He founded his own Bernstrand & Co. design studio in Stockholm in 1999 and the company works with landscape design as well as interior and furniture design.
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Made by Stockholm-based design manufacturers Nola
Thomas Bernstrand’s design is always based on strong ideas with a humorous touch. The portable ‘share’ park chair is created for the Stockholm-based design manufacturers Nola and is an innovative solution for the need of flexible public seating indoor as well as outdoor.
The stool is an alternative to fixed public seating where dwellers can carry it to their chosen spot in the sun. The chairs are equipped with coin-operated locks like shopping carts or trolleys used in many supermarkets. The chairs are collectively secured to an immovable base. in this way the design lowers the risk of theft, as well as encourages everyday users to return the seat to the storage station after use, in order to recuperate their coins.
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Swedish Coin-operated Share Stool
“Some people like to sit alone under a tree, others like to sit in the sun and others like to sit together,” says Bernstrand. “People have so many different needs, so a loose chair in the park is a great feature.”
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Thomas Bernstrand does not like making compromises, but sticks firmly to his original plans, and that is why he can always proudly stand behind his work.
Swedish Coin-operated Share Stool, written by Tor Kjolberg