Alvar Aalto drew Stool 60 in 1933, and for almost a century the same three bent birch legs have held up the same round seat. Now a Japanese leather label has put a new pair of shoes on it. Hender Scheme and Artek have teamed up on a collection that lands worldwide on Saturday, October 10, and it is exactly the kind of crossover that makes design people stop scrolling.
Birch meets leather
The idea is simple and very good. Artek, the Finnish maker of Aalto's furniture, works in birch. Hender Scheme, the Japanese shoemaker known for its leather work, works in leather. Both materials change as you live with them. Artek's description is that birch and leather each develop their own patina at their own pace, shaped by the room and by how you use them, so no two pieces end up the same.
The collection is sold while stock lasts, and it covers furniture, lighting and small objects:
- Stool 60 with a vegetable-tanned leather seat
- Aalto Table 90C and a low Table 90C, with leather on the tabletop
- Pendant Light A330, reimagined in leather
- Stool 60 and E60 "shoes," leather boots that slip over the bent L-legs
- A clock, a key holder and coasters
The shoes for the L-leg
The wildest detail is the least expected one. Aalto's L-leg is the signature of his furniture, a single piece of birch bent at a right angle where it meets the seat. Hender Scheme designed small leather shoes that slide over the foot of each leg, the way a pair of boots would. They are sold in sets of three or four, for the Stool 60 and E60, and Artek lists them from €107. It reads as a joke and a serious object at the same time, and the leather will age like a good pair of shoes.
The stool itself
The leather-topped Stool 60 is listed at €542 in wild birch with a natural leather seat. Artek uses a "wild birch" selection for the collection, which uses more of each tree and lets natural variations show: knots, insect trails and shifts in color. The seat core is solid birch and birch plywood, and the whole piece is made in Finland. The stool is offered in limited quantities and made to order to avoid overproduction, with a stated delivery time of two to four business days.
Where to find it
Hender Scheme says the collection launches October 10 at its Sukima stores and online shop, at Artek stores and the Artek online store, and at select retailers around the world. In the US, that list includes Nalata Nalata and Glasswing. Elsewhere it names END. in the UK, Dover Street Market Ginza and CIBONE in Japan, and Andreas Murkudis in Germany. When we checked Friday morning, the Artek store showed each piece as "coming soon," so expect the real rush on Saturday.
Aalto's furniture has always aged well, and this is the first time anyone has made the aging part of the pitch. For more design with a story, read our look at GUBI's lost 1937 M-Chair, our guide to the best design books, and our gifts for design lovers.
The collection at Artek · Stool shoes · Hender Scheme announcement
