But what makes this project unique is that McBennett’s company Fabsie works with a network of local manufacturers. When customers order a stool, the digital file will be sent to a local maker near them who makes the piece of furniture and delivers it. Big advantages of this decentralization of production is that it’s faster and it leads to a more direct supply chain. Imagine a future in which you order a new piece of design furniture from an online catalogue, that will be produced at the 3D printshop around the corner, and directly delivered to your door.
Upon arrival the ‘This Stool Rocks’ can be assembled by means of stragically placed slots, which makes it possible to assemble and take apart the stool in less than a minute. There are multiple variants of the stool made for people that ‘rock’ in different ways, like ‘Hard Rock’ (rocks 360 degrees), ‘Soft Rock’ (rocks forwards and backwards) and ‘Easy Rock’ (only rocks forwards).
‘This Stool Rocks’ is on Kickstarter and by pledging £35 you are ensured of a great looking rocking stool that contributes to a re-invention of the production chain. With the revolution of new, local production tools, even that trip to IKEA every now and then becomes obsolete. I cannot imagine a reason to visit the furniture store in the future other than the Swedish meatballs…