Omi Collective's "distinctly African" stool can split into three seats for sharing

Lagos design firm Omi Collective has created a six-legged timber stool that reinterprets classic African seating designs and can be divided into three standalone modules.

The Omi Series 2 Stool, which made its debut at the 2025 Stockholm Furniture Fair, explores how classic stools from across the African continent could be reimagined to resonate with a global audience.

"The stool emerged from a broader question: What is an African way of seating – if such a thing exists," Omi Collective founder Olorunfemi Adewuyi told Dezeen.

"If there were to be a stool that was distinctly African yet spoke to a global audience, what might it look and feel like?"

The design consists of three identical hand-turned timber modules connected via steel rods. These can be used together, in pairs or individually, depending on how many seats are needed at the time.

By allowing users to configure the stool in different ways, Adewuyi argues the stool fosters interaction and a sense of community.

"We believe that the stool's modularity and its ability to be shared, taken apart, reassembled and adapted, naturally encourages community and shared ownership," he explained.

Among Adewuyi's primary design references were the granary ladders made by the Dogon people of West Africa by carving steps directly into a single log of wood.

The studio adapted this approach by "scooping out" the seating area from solid timber, creating a silhouette reminiscent of Ghanian Asante stools and African neckrests.

At the base, Adewuyi created a "forest of legs" to replace the more conventional four-legged construction and reference Nigerian Nupe stools, which often feature multiple supports.

While Nupe stools typically have downward tapered legs, the six legs of the Omi Series 2 stool flare out towards the bottom, creating a chunky, bulbous form that reinforces the stool's presence despite its low profile.

"We wanted to create something that feels powerful and present despite its low height, drawing from proportions commonly found in African objects," Adewuyi explained.

"We believe the piece evokes nostalgia – Africans or those familiar with African culture can immediately recall similar stool forms across the continent."

The stool's vivid blue hue is a nod to the deep cultural significance of indigo and the central role it has played in West African textile production for centuries.

Timber was chosen for its historical significance as a primary material in traditional African objects as well as for its malleability, allowing the studio to incorporate hand-carved textures into each stool.

"Timber carving and texturing is a defining feature of age-old African architecture and craftsmanship but also a craft practice slowly fading into extinction," Adewuyi explained.

"We believe that these carved textures help humanise the objects, serving as a contrast to the more sterile, mass-produced designs we see today."

The design itself takes cues from the modularity of Danish architect Jørn Utzon's JU01 stool, originally designed in the 1950s but put into production last year for the first time by furniture maker Fritz Hansen.

"I was intrigued by the repetition of bulbous forms in Utzon's stool, which function as modules, but also by how seductive it felt and looked to touch," Adewuyi said.

"We applied some of the learnings from that piece to our own creation by envisioning the parts of the stool as modules."

Founded by Adewuyi in 2023, Omi Collective works across furniture design – as seen in Omi Series 1 – and runs an archive documenting tropical modernist architecture in Lagos.

The photography is courtesy of Omi Collective.

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