Nov 01
Why start with chairs?
Because they are the most complex engineering challenge.
While many furniture makers have a strong affinity for chairs, Fyrn's decision to start with a chair design was strategic. Chairs are heavily used; they accommodate a range of body sizes and types, aren’t stationary, sit on uneven floors, and experience stress fatigue over the years.
Chairs and stools require a higher level of durability and mobilty than most furniture, making them the hardest to engineer.
Ros had many anecdotes from his grandfather about the challenges of producing the Hitchcock chair—chief among them warehousing, logistics, and structural issues.
He believed that addressing some of these back-end pain points could have the most significant impact on enabling craft at scale.
The endeavor to create a high-end piece of craft produced in America, without cutting corners on quality, required careful design of every element, from the silhouette to the way it was produced, delivered, and serviced.
So he started from a white space and took a systems approach to the design, considering the full lifecycle of the furniture by addressing challenges that would optimize for longevity and responsibility.
These were the intentions that guided that process:
• A timeless look that utilizes natural and endlessly recyclable materials
• A thin wood profile to maximize material yields + Domestically sourced raw materials and components to minimize carbon footprint
• Ergonomics that provide maximum comfort for most bodies
• The ability to ship knock down, enabling compact recyclable packages paired with intuitive, satisfying assembly
• Generational durability with easily replaceable parts
Our original Stemn Seating Collection is a parts and pieces system that checks every box it set out to. Every detail meticulously chosen with purpose, informed by the process of how the chair would be produced, creating efficiencies that ultimately enhance the customer experience.
The result was handcrafted-quality furniture, configurable to project taste, made to order, shipped in four to six weeks, and serviceable for life
At Fyrn, we believe that the quality of a product should be measured by its resilience in response to everyday wear and tear. While the Original Stemn Seating Collection was designed with residential use in mind, Ros knew that no chair endures more regular abuse than a seat at a popular restaurant.
To simulate decades of use quickly, the very first set of functional prototypes—about 100 units—went to Shakewell, a restaurant in Oakland being opened by long time friends of Fyrn, Chefs Jen Biesty and Tim Nugent.
On their maiden voyage, with people sitting in them night after night, small, previously unseen problems with the design and build began to emerge. The Fyrn team worked hard between services to identify and fix these issues, making adjustments and learning along the way, perfecting every detail.
A decade later, the same set of of initial seats was still in service at Shakewell.
Today, all Fyrn products boast a ten-year manufacturing warranty, with a claims rate of less than one-tenth of one percent, including our public projects.
It wasn’t long before other restaurateurs across the city began calling to outfit their dining rooms with Stemn seating. Amazed by the comfort, many customers were turning the chairs over to see who made them, and finding their way to Fyrn.
For clients, the quality, resilience, and serviceability of our design have made Stemn Seating the choice for over 300 public spaces and thousands of well-design homes across the country.
The power of the furniture from a design perspective lies in its versatility, as evidenced by the variety of environments it inhabits—from modern offices and private homes to highly trafficked hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, galleries, stadiums and more.
