nik bentel patents his body as actual furniture collection

american artist and designer nik bentel went through the entire process of designing and patenting his own body as different pieces of furniture to experience the design process first hand. he showcased his collection at ICFF, the central hub of the new york design week.

the chair

‘we, as consumers, just do not understand how much it actually takes to make all of our everyday products,’ says bentel. ‘what does it really take, from the sketching phase, to actually trying to sell something? I felt that in order for me to understand how to design, produce and use products, I have to become a product!’

the coat rack

the designer claims that, from painstakingly designing himself into usable pieces and selling his ‘furniture collection’ at the international contemporary furniture fair, he learned a lot as to how much it actually takes to make a simple object for everyday use. bentel spent 2 months working out specific muscles in order to train himself to become perfect pieces.

the lounger

this project is a part of a series of videos bentel is launching called ‘all purpose nik’, which is about design and how we, as humans, can become human again. 

the side table

the table

the full technical drawing for nik’s new furniture collection


a technical drawing for the chair in nik’s new collection

the couch

the lounger

the side table

the technical drawing of nik’s body which catalogs all of his features, good and bad

bentel holding up his provisional patent certificate given to him by the united states patent and trademark office