Merkled takes us through the manufacturing process of their Net Stool.

We’ve been fans of Portland, Oregon based studio Merkled, led by designer Kari Merkl, for years, crushing on their modern seating and clever coat hooks. When you observe their work in person, you see just how finely crafted each piece is and their incredible attention to detail. In today’s Deconstruction, they take us through the manufacturing process of their Merkled Net Stool, which combines a machined and welded steel frame with a flexible knotted seat. Take a look.

Before we start production we lay out all the jigs and drawings to make sure everything is set to go.

Each stool frame is made from cold rolled flat bar. All flat stock material is cut to length for the legs, seat and bracing. Once it is cut to length the legs and seating pieces are sent to the laser cutter so the cord slots can be cut.
We then take all the slotted flat material and prepare each piece for bending. The legs get a more severe bend at about 84 degrees. The seating pieces get a very subtle bend just enough for the cording to sit above the sides when finalized.

This image shows the legs, seating and leg bracing piles getting ready for the next step of beveling each joint before getting welded.

Since all the joints are welded and ground smooth, they each have to be beveled and prepped so each joint will hold up to constant weight and movement in each seat.

Each bottom leg brace gets drilled for rubber...