CUGINO Design. Konstantin Grcic, 2023 

CUGINO is made of fairly thick solid oak. The quality of the wood gives the stool its character and beauty. I wanted CUGINO to remain original, made of high-quality material and without compromise. In order to achieve this, we had to accept longer delivery times and a slight increase in costs. But this sacrifice triggered a plan B. I thought, what if we put a simpler, more economical version alongside the original oak CUGINO? Not in exchange, but as an alternative, as a completely independent piece of furniture with other attributes and different properties.

CUGINO soft is made of construction timber - the quality that roof trusses are made of: spruce wood. It is very different from oak. Less noble maybe, but lighter in weight and pale grained. The timber can be sourced locally, the trees grow quickly and in large numbers. That has its effect on the price. The geometry of CUGINO soft is exactly the same as the original, but the round seat is covered with coloured linoleum. Some may now consider it more as a side table than a stool. That’s okay, CUGINO soft is a lot like its big brother, but different.

*Available in the showroom 

(Min order 4 pcs, the listed price includes the delivery fee)

Design by KONSTANTIN GRCIC: 

Konstantin Grcic (born in 1965) was trained as a cabinet maker at The John Makepeace School for Craftsmen in Wood before studying Design at the Royal College of Art in London. Since setting up his own practice in 1991 he has developed furniture, products and lighting for leading design companies. Today, Konstantin Grcic Design is based in Berlin and is active in several fields ranging from industrial design projects, design editions, exhibition design and collaborations in architecture and fashion.

Among his producers are Artek, Authentics, Cassina, ClassiCon, Flos, Flötotto, Kettal, Laufen, Magis, Mattiazzi, Muji, Mutina, Nespresso, Plank, Serafino Zani and Vitra. From the fashion and lifestyle sector he has worked with Audi, Hugo Boss, Issey Miyake, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Rado and smart/Daimler amongst others.

Grcic has worked with various intuitional clients such as the Venice Architecture Biennial, the Musée des Art Décoratifs (Paris), the Istituto Svizzero (Rome), the Fonds national d’art contemporain (FNAC), the Serpentine Gallery (London), the St. Etienne Design Biennial, the Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein) and the MUDAM (Luxemburg).

Many of his products have won international design awards, such as the Compasso d’Oro and the German Design Award in Gold. The world’s most important design museums (including MoMA, New York/Centre Pompidou, Paris/Die Neue Sammlung, Munich) have included his designs in their permanent collections.

In 2009, Grcic has been appointed as Honorary Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA / UK). Since 2020, Grcic holds a professorship at the Hamburg University of Fine Arts (Hochschule für Bildende Künste) and has been appointed member of the Academy of Arts (Akademie der Künste), Berlin in 2021.