Campaign, a nascent furniture company with a new take on pared-down design, makes ease of assembly a selling point, but takes it to the extreme. The company's limited line of stark, simple designs—a $495 sofa, $745 loveseat and $995 sofa—require no tools to assemble, claiming each piece can be put together by hand in minutes. Like other tech-savvy furniture startups such as Greycork and BenchMade Modern, the concept fuses utilitarian design and efficient distribution and assembly with startup-style marketing language, squarely taking aim at furniture giant IKEA.
While Campaign certainly has a ways to go before being serious competition, it does offer an intriguing concept. CEO Brad Sewell, a former Apple engineer whose father was a carpenter, realized the value of furniture that was easy to break down, ship and reassemble, and how it could fit into a more modern and nomadic lifestyle, according to PSFK, and started the company, now based in Emeryville, California, in 2012. If the portability and reusability of Campaign's products aren't already signs of the company's sustainable focus, the furniture is made from recyclable steel tubing, sustainable wood and natural fabrics.
The utility of the product extends to both its initial delivery—easy-to-pack pieces are made to fit inside standard shipping boxes, and arrive in three-to-five days—and its profile. These are basic pieces, albeit of higher quality than the starter sets often found in a typical first apartment. The true test of this model may be when, after shipping its first pieces in November, it can expand into other designs and products, and push the boundaries of its utilitarian design.
・Furniture Ready to Move With You—No Tools Necessary [PSFK]
・Watch Out Ikea, New U.S. Startup Promises Modern Furniture That's More Affordable and Easier to Setup [Curbed]
・Seating on Demand: BenchMade Modern's 24-Hour Custom Furniture [Curbed]