Though TreeHugger loves the uber-chic, ultra-sleek, clean lines of traditional modern design, sometimes it’s nice to showcase simple, thoughtful, functional design that looks good and serves its purpose. It may not be flashy, but it prefers its simplicity, and revels in it. Such is the case with STAACH Furniture, a design collective seeking to make a difference in not only the product they produce, but how designers do business. The sustainable methods the company adheres to are seen in the products as well as the design manifesto [www.staach.com] they follow.

The company strives to follow the concept of creating new, avant-garde pieces that functionally question the modern world in products, graphics, and culture. A need for simple, affordable furniture was the ultimate goal for the Cain Collection (chair pictured here), but they’ve gone far beyond that, including some useful extra features like being stackable and the ability to be upholstered. Even better, the line is the first production piece to truly encompass their concept of “sustainability” in manufacturing and design; the wood comes from sustainable sources in New York and Pennsylvania (they’re based in Rochester, NY), and all the fabrication is done in house with only two tools. The chairs are finished with non-toxic wood glue and water-based, low- to no-VOC lacquers, and can be flat packed — requiring a bit of assembly — for shipping.

In addition to the chair, the Cain Collection includes a stool, benches, bar stool, armchair, lounge chair, settee, sofa, bed and table sets, that all follow the same simple, self-aware aesthetic. STAACH also features the Adam Collection [www.staach.com] and Enos Collection [www.staach.com], which feature the same easy, modern aesthetic and sustainable considerations. They’re doing a lot of things right; go to their website [www.staach.com] to get all the details.

Each Friday, we like to kick back and highlight a product or industrial designer doing really interesting, really cool work. It’s not just that we like eye candy and want something nice to look at as we ease into the weekend; we think it’s important to know that there is a better way to do things. Better materials, better manufacturing processes and better designs built to last all add up to a lighter footprint, and that’s why we like to train the spotlight on companies like InModern [www.inmodern.net]: because they do it better than conventional alternatives.

Using FSC-certified birch plywood (FSC-wha?? Read this [www.sundancechannel.com] to get up to speed), finished with non-toxic lacquers, that doesn’t employ hardware (bolts, screws, nuts, or even glue) or tools to assemble, it’s all manufactured here in the US. They have the beginnings of four different collections so far; the Linear [www.inmodern.net] collection (coffee table w/magazine storage is pictured) is the most complete, and they have some good looking stuff in the “coming soon” section of the others, like the “rekindle [www.inmodern.net]“, “surfin [www.inmodern.net]” (the magazine rack is below, on the left) and “intown [www.inmodern.net]” (occasional table below, right) collections. It’s all very clean, simple-looking design, made with earth-friendly materials, waste-reducing, pollution-conscious manufacturing and built to last beyond the next trend. We don’ recommend going out and buying all of this furniture (or all the designs from previous spotlights, for that matter), but it’s still good to know that there are better ways of doing things out there, and InModern gets it right, from start to finish.