Promotion: a stool designed for toddlers that can transform to fit adults by designer Jenna Gillinger is the winner of Danish brand OYOY Living Design's Togetherness Award.

OYOY Living Design's Togetherness Award aims to promote the brand's mission to create furniture and objects for the family home.

OYOY Living Design is known for its minimalist but playful aesthetic. The brand blends elements of Danish tradition with joyful details informed by its designers' memories of childhood and incorporates objects for children and pets within its collections.

The competition intended to unearth emerging designers with a similar outlook of bringing both heritage and a sense of fun into the home. The winner and finalists were announced at this year's London Design Fair.

The brief for the Togetherness Award was to design a product for everyday life that can be used within the family home and grow with the family. OYOY and London Design Fair also asked that the work be made with sustainable materials.

The winner and finalists were announced at the London Design Fair on 22 September, after being selected by a judging panel including OYOY Living Design Founder Lotte Fynboe and Dezeen editor-at-large Amy Frearson.

Jenna Gillinger won the overall Living Design's Togetherness Award with Boa – a stool for toddlers that can be transformed into an adult stool. The design can be used with a seat cushion and also functions as a footstool, stepstool and even a side or coffee table.

"In Sweden, there is an expression called Boa, to nestle," said Gillinger. "It is a phenomenon that is said to occur when a pregnant woman enters the end of the third and last trimester. It is said to be in human nature, just like all animals, that genetics makes us organize our home during this specific time, both practical and to make it more cozy when the arrival of the baby is approaching."

"Boa is a beautiful word with a nice meaning that suits my furniture," Gillinger continued. "I named my modular stool Boa, a stool built from natural local raw materials, designed to follow generations with its transformation possibilities in a timeless design for a circular sustainability."

The stool is designed to last multiple generations and its modular elements are made from solid pine, which is attached to a pine round rod without the need for nails or screws.

The seat is made from sheepskin, which has an underside made from cow leather stuffed with wool and sewn with waxed linen thread.

"Jenna presented a simple yet powerful design concept which combines beautiful materials with a pure Nordic, Scandinavian style," said OYOY founder and Togetherness Design Award judge Lotte Fynboe.

Among the runner-up designs included a wooden chair made of interlocking wooden segments by designer Fred Aslan. The judges commented that Aslan has a unique way of experimenting with materials, leading to a surface texture they love.

Another finalist included Trix Newham who created abstract ceramic lamps named LUX Pottery.

Newham says each colourful lamp is "decorated with a design that has lived in my head for a few weeks or even months, until it is lovingly locked inside the clay forever", with the shortlisted design featuring an array of blue, dusty pink, beige and black shapes textured with different glazes.

"We love the playful forms of Trix's work, which are accentuated by her keen eye for alluring colours," said Fynboe.

Gillinger's prize includes an exclusive opportunity to work with OYOY to design, develop and manufacture the winning product. Also included is a working visit to the OYOY workshops in Denmark. Once finished, the stool will be exclusively listed with the online retailer Glassette for three months.

All three of the finalists exhibited their work within the London Design Fair's Design Alumni Pavilion, a new initiative that is intended to offer a platform for emerging talent.

OYOY's new autumn/winter 2023 collection, based around earthy colours and designs to make all generations feel at home was also on display at the fair.

OYOY was founded by Fynboe in 2012 and presents accessories, furniture, and children's and pet products as part of its collections.
Its name is a nod to the "OY" serial numbers that have long appeared on all Danish aeroplanes and indicates the brand's appreciation for the country's heritage, according to OYOY.

For more information on the brand's autumn/winter 2023 collection, visit the OYOY Living Design website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for OYOY Living Design as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.