New! Elia Mini Chair - a functional kid-size cardboard - chair designed by Twin Cities-based architect/engineer Michael Gross and his wife Rey Tabarrok. They decided to launch a kid’s version of a chair Michael created for an architecture school project because it addresses their belief that there are few options out there that encourage creative interaction between kids and their parents, that exercises the artistic vision of the child, and are, at the end of it all, functional. They were inspired by, and therefore named the brand after, their crafty 6 year old daughter. Elia. They wanted to produce a product that was interesting and engaging, but also one that expressed their sense of responsibility towards our environment, which they try and impart to their daughter all the time.
"It has enormous structural strength given its light weight and this, of course, is a result of the way it is made - layers of fluted liner (paper) sandwiched between flat liner. The flutes are like roman arches in that that they resist compression and transfer load efficiently. Cardboard also behaves like a structural column when it is edge-loaded. So the Elia Mini Chair is also a great way to teach young kids about basic engineering and geometric principles like the arch, the triangle, compression, tension, beams and columns. And hopefully children will come away with an understanding that good design is a marriage of art and engineering," said Michael.
The chair comes flat packed in a kit, and includes six 12?x12? custom color stickers to decorate the chair with. Some assembly required. Just recycle it when you are done using it!
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