Beanbags
Beanbags are relative newcomers to the world of product design. The first-ever design, the ‘Sacco | 280’, manufactured by Zanotta, became an instant hit and a symbol of increasing informality when it was launched in 1968. Since then, a handful of successful reiterations of the basic type have been produced. Johanna Hansson’s ‘Flour Fellow’ range for Green Furniture Concept returns to the most archetypical form of the bean bag and combines it with environmental awareness and a bold graphic print on its outer sleeve.
Elena Manfredini, meanwhile, takes the opposite approach and triangulates her ‘Filigrana’ beanbag for Moroso to produce a more adaptable and contemporary form. Some recent designs, such as ‘dickie’, produced by moooi, and ‘Pouff Mr Bean’ by Bolzan Letti, still refer to the original seating function of the beanbag. On the other hand, ‘My’ and ‘Roo’, by Ulla Koskinen for Woodnotes, and ‘Sitt beanbag’, designed by Susanne Grønlund and manufactured by Softline, admit what everyone knew all along; beanbags are comfortable enough to assume a more horizontal position and maybe take a short nap.
