SKALBODA Series

Forging the essence of metal, IKEA style

Necessity is the mother of all inventions. Many of the designs at IKEA are also developed to find unexpected solutions to everyday problems. And for the ideal solution, sometimes you have to look in unusual places. In the mid-1980s, IKEA started thinking about how to make new products from steel and other metals. Ingvar Kamprad first challenged designer Niels Gammelgaard to create a different kind of chair without padding or fabric. It had to be industrially produced and the price had to be naturally low. Furniture made of steel tubes had been in production since the 1930s, but the tubes were expensive and heavy to transport. Was it possible to find a simpler, more affordable alternative? The answer was found in a company that manufactures shopping trolleys.