Over the past few months, I've juggled multiple roles: creative strategist, designer, and project manager, all while managing my shop and workshop. It was a busy period since I wanted to develop two concepts myself.
My extensive experience with USM Modular furniture was a significant advantage. Since 2010, I've designed and built thousands of pieces from all USM generations, giving me a deep understanding of the system's possibilities. It might seem simple, but there are thousands of parts available. This knowledge made it much easier to generate new and innovative ideas and in tutoring the participating designers to develop their own.
A large part of the creative process was dedicated to research, testing, and sourcing materials. This involved experimenting with various ropes and knots, as well as finding the right tiles. I also used Google Gemini + Nano Banana to help visualize my concepts. While not all of my ideas could be realized within the project's time and budget, I gained a wealth of new concepts for future Re-Framed™ projects. The positive reception and requests from other designers have confirmed my plan to continue this work.
One of the concepts I developed with the ropes was an evolution of Henry Julier's Woven Structures project. But where he uses a traditional Danish weaving technique, I opted for a macramé technique that works better with the thicker ropes.
First, I modified the rails on the USM 1.gen top frame to fit my idea. I chose orange rope to reflect our brand identity. The Mammut rope is water-repellent, so I imagined an open weave would make it versatile and even work outdoors. With a note that the frame will rust if left outside over time.
To retract the front tube on the bottom frame, I used 500mm tubes with threaded holes and added 750mm tubes with end milling at the crossing. This feature counteracts sideways play in the structure and gives more leg space. To ensure no material went to waste, I used all the rope and left the excess hanging down the back.
The idea for tiling a bench was born from a simple insight: I once flipped a USM panel over and realized its indentation could be filled with different materials, creating a unique surface. I have ideas for many more surfaces.
For the posters, I collaborated with illustrator Wes Robertson. I was looking for a playful aesthetic, and his mood and charming, sympathetic illustrations were a perfect match for the project's DIY vibe.
The metal tubing for this exact project, was sourced from old filing cabinets that once belonged to Kredittkassen bank (now Nordea). These first-generation USM structures, dating back to the mid-1980s, feature four steel rails welded onto the 750mm tubes. Originally designed to support extension drawers and filing frames, I imagined these rails would prove useful for the re-designs, as they allowed for the seamless integration of new concepts and materials.
We salvaged these 1.gen parts about 15 years ago and spent nearly three months dismantling them into individual components. I then stored them at my combined warehouse, showroom and workshop.
Since then, I’ve restored and rebuilt them into a variety of custom USM solutions. Hi-Fi Racks, Bike racks, DJ benches, vinyl record storages, bed frames, wardrobes, kitchens and of course plenty custom media, low and sideboards.
Since this year's Designers' Saturday theme was "Re-purposed," the brief was to use only upcycled and surplus materials. The designers were also responsible for sourcing their own materials. For my own designs, I used a combination of online ads, my professional network, and direct outreach to find the best materials for the concepts.
For the weaving, I initially used old climbing ropes from Klatreverket to test various techniques. I then experimented with different designs and Nora Cecil Paulsen did the hard work with the final weaving. I was also introduced by Wai Tsui from the clothing and equipment brand Hiking Patrol, to Jonathon Williams at Mammut, who generously sent us a box of discarded ropes with production defects.
My search for tiles led me to Emilie Engelstad at Ita Design, who got me some beautiful surplus Fired Earth Onyx tiles.
This project will also have leftover materials, which I plan to use to create a few more benches.
Since StudioM3 are USM specialists we work with re-design, configuration and upcycling on a daily basis. We work with both living and working spaces and help clients adapt the furniture to meet their ever changing storage and furnishing needs.
In our daily operations we save all of the consumables we use for packaging and deliveries like cardboard boxes, styrofoam, and plastic and re-use them multiple times. This saves us money and time, in addition to being good for the environment. We also distribute the furniture with an electric Maxus van for city central deliveries and I even use my own bio diesel modified and 4.2l-12HT turboed 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser for smaller deliveries. It runs on any plant based oil.
