THE STORY BEHIND

ELEPHANT STOOL

INSPIRED BY AN ELEPHANT? Exactly. The curving shape echoes an elephant’s bulky form. WHO IS IT BY? The Japanese designer, Sori Yanagi, in 1954. It’s one of the best-known postwar Japanese designs. WHAT ELSE IS HE

FAMOUS FOR? The Butterfly Stool, made of plywood and reminiscent of butterflies’ wings. In 1952, he founded the Yanagi Industrial Design Institute in Japan, designing furniture, lighting, cutlery, children’s toys, bicycles, motorcycles and even a metro station. WHAT’S THE ELEPHANT STOOL MADE FROM? Polypropylene. HOW MUCH? £79, skandium.com. It can be used indoors or outdoors and is stackable — you could have a herd.