Counterstool Counterstool by Blu Dot

Blu Dot History

“We are firm believers that the collective effort often yields results that can't be reached on a solo basis.”
— Blu Dot Designers

Beginning with a mission statement of bringing good design to as many people as possible, the Minneapolis-based design collaborative Blu Dot was created in 1997 by three college friends, John Christakos, Charles Lazor, and Maurice Blanks, who had shared interests in art, architecture and design. To create products that are useful, affordable and wanted, Blu Dot practices a design process based on total collaboration (name credit is not given to specific designers of individual pieces), plus an inventive use of materials and a playful sensibility that also remains pragmatic. Since its inception, the design collective has produced a long list of acclaimed modern designs:

Proving upholstery was not necessary for comfort, Blu Dot designed the award-winning and organic-looking Buttercup chair with a seat and back formed from bent plywood intricately united to comfortably cradle sitters in a relaxed incline, and available with a brushed stainless steel swivel or rocker base.

To provide an efficient coordinating storage system for homes, Blu Dot designed an inventive modular shelf and cabinet system called Wonder Wall with double-drawer cabinets that hold everything from clothing to stacks of CDs and DVDs, wire management holes and concealed latches, and powder-coated steel shelving for stability.

For the contemporary home office, Blu Dot combined their Scoop Task chair with their Blu Dot Desk 51 to create their Office #1. The Scoop chair has a tilt mechanism and supportive swivel shell, and Desk 51 is a spacious work surface with a keyboard tray and ample legroom.

For bedrooms, the Blu Dot Modu-licious series of furniture, storage and bed frames was designed to be used together for flexible storage that conserves space, and to be customizable with drawer front colors that can be selected from Blu Dot’s color palette.

Although the company has won many national and international design awards, and has had their work exhibited by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Blu Dot maintains that good design is not just about beauty or form — it should also be about making our lives just a little easier and a little more enjoyable.