Oom for Brayton International - 2005

Early in my industrial design career, I was fortunate to receive a pivotal opportunity after sharing my work with Cia Mooney, Design Director at Brayton International, a Steelcase subsidiary based in North Carolina. At the time, Brayton was distributing a curated selection of Hans J. Wegner designs from PP Møbler, and I was genuinely thrilled to be even tangentially connected to such an iconic design legacy.

Brayton invited me to propose concepts for a furniture solution intended for contract environments. After multiple rounds of exploration, I arrived at a deliberately abstract idea, a rolling pouf paired with an organically shaped post that emerged from its backside and branched into a crescent-shaped coat hook. The object was conceived for waiting areas and lobbies, allowing users to hang a coat while seated. When someone sat on the pouf, the hook appeared to sprout directly from their head, creating a horn-like silhouette that was meant to inject humor into an otherwise utilitarian setting. I suspect many first reactions were something along the lines of, “What is this?” as it clearly landed in a love-it-or-hate-it category.

The more sobering part of the story is that, despite investing over a year in its development, the product’s production run was short-lived. Still, I remain genuinely grateful for the experience. I took a creative risk, introduced something unapologetically original to the market, and gained firsthand insight into the unpredictable realities of the commercial furniture industry.