Many of the designs coming out of my studio, Amtorp Design have been inspired by Nature. The Mantis chair is no exception. As the name suggests, part of the inspiration comes from the fascinating features of the large Mantis insect, which belongs to the family of stick insects. Like the insect, the chair has those long slender legs. The legs of the chair is made of 14mm steeltube coming with a variety of surfaces. The characteristic shape of the backrest shell of the chair constitutes the remarkable head of the insect. Besides Nature this design also has references to my Danish design heritage, more specifically the extraordinarily successful and versatile series 7™ chair, an icon in modern furniture history, and the “Ant”both designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1952 and 1955 respectively.

As a designer of today with the serious menace of the climate crisis, I see it as a moral obligation to implement sustainability in all products I wish to put on the market. If not I do not think that it has any legitimacy on the market. Therefore I have been working with an alternative choice of material for the seat and back – shells. Instead of the traditional molded veneer solution, I have been working with a new material called“Pond”, which contains of compressed plant fibres. The surface of the pond material is a bit too rustic, which is why the backrest shell is covered with a layer of wooden veneer in the front and in the back . The pond material therefore is only visible along the edge. The seat is fully upholstered and will not need the wooden veneer surface. The supplier of Pond has documented, that the strength and durability of this material matches those of the traditional plywood shells.

Ergonomics and comfort have been highly prioritized in shaping the seat and the back shells, in order to offer the best possible support to the seated. The foam used for the seat has the appropriate density for the seated not to feel the hard surface of the shell core.