Tova in black lacquered oak / Photo © Esaila
The idea of the stool started with a few leftover offcuts of wide planks in our workshop, and needing a small step to reach the top shelf at home. Taking a little cue from the structure of classic Ulm stool by Max Bill, we made a couple of very simple step stools.
A friend saw it and asked one for his daughter, Tova, to reach the bathroom sink. Tova stool is the result of detailed refinements which were made to the original.
The super normal boxy form works well as a multifunctional piece of furniture, from kitchen/library steps to entrance stool or bedside tables.
Designed originally in 2018, Tova is produced by Esaila (TW) since 2020.
Buy Tova on Esaila website
Tova in natural oak / Photo © Esaila
The original step stool was made with ash, as we had some short planks left from previous projects at the studio. It was painted in green because the timber had quite random patches of colours that made the item visually too busy.
This new version produced beautifully in oak by Taiwan based company Esaila is a further refinement, with slightly bigger dimensions than the original to suit a variety of people and use.
Original version made with Ash offcuts at Mentsen studio, 2018
Making original step stool at Mentsen studio
