Projects / 04 — Monstrin Chair
Salão Design Award Honourable mention · Salão Design Award 2025

Monstrin Chair.

From the Metamorfose series: sensory, multifunctional children's furniture made to spark emotion, autonomy and fond memories. Fixed chair, rocking chair or cart — the child chooses.

Specifications
Year2025
TypeChildren's chair · Metamorfose series
ClientOriginal piece · Umzin brand
WoodsRoxinho or tauari
UpholsteryAlaska bouclé
Dimensions64 (L) × 49 (W) × 58 (H) cm
EditionSeries · 3 versions: fixed, rocking and cart
ScopeDesign and making · Estúdio um+um
Rafael and his daughter with the two scales of the Monstrin chair
Salão Design Award
Honourable
mention
AwardSalão Design · 26th edition
CategoryPositive Experiences
Year2025
See the official result → (opens in a new tab)
01 — The starting point

Play as a
project of affection.

To create products that connect adults and children by building shared stories. Inspired by the power of free play, we look for experiences that stimulate imagination and strengthen self-confidence, creativity and emotional development.

Play goes beyond fun: it is a way to foster affection, care and a deeper connection between generations. The pieces value respect for the environment and encourage learning about sustainability in a natural, playful way.

Three pieces in one
01Fixed chair
02Rocking chair
03Cart

Children assemble it themselves, with adult supervision. Wood and fabric can be customised.

02 — The process

From fabric
to workbench.

Fabric samples
01
Fabric

Choosing the bouclé and its tones before closing the structure.

Turned rockers in tauari and roxinho
02
Parts

The cut-out rockers, one in tauari and one in roxinho, still loose.

Assembling the base and pins
03
Base

Assembling the base and the joint pins that articulate the piece.

Structure assembled in the workshop
04
Workshop

The closed structure on the workbench, before the upholstery goes in.

03 — Woods and fabric

A piece you
choose.

Wood and fabric can be customised — the same structure changes character depending on the combination.

Tauari wood sample
Tauari
Structure and rockers
ColourLight beige
Roxinho wood sample
Roxinho
Alternative version · pins and rockers
ColourDeep violet
Bouclé samples
Alaska bouclé
Seat, backrest and ears

The fabric gives softness where the child leans — and changes the piece's personality when it's time to choose the colour.

OptionsCustomisable
04 — Construction details

Made for
small hands.

Upholstered ears on the backrest
Upholstered ears

The outline of the backrest becomes a creature: the soft bumps are what turn the chair into a character.

Roxinho joint pin
Joint pin

The exposed pin is what the child turns to change mode. A joinery piece, not a hidden screw.

Child's hand on the soft grip
Soft grip

Where the hand grabs, there is fabric. Where the body leans, there is wood. The division isn't decorative.

05 — From sketch to piece

One sheet,
three modes.

Original sketch of the Monstrin chair
Drawing

The original sketch: the three modes drawn on the same sheet, with measurements noted alongside.

The finished Monstrin Chair, rocking version
Final piece

The finished piece, in solid wood and bouclé — shown here as the rocking version.

06 — The award

What the jury saw.

“Fun, playful and graceful, this children's furniture invites interaction, exploring the imagination and different play experiences. It also fosters a sense of achievement and autonomy in the child, who can assemble it alone, with only an adult's supervision. It has multiple functions: fixed chair, rocking chair or cart.”

Jury statement · Salão Design Award 2025 · 26th edition
The piece on display at Salão Design, under the honourable mention panel
Rafael Silva at the Salão Design Award 2025 ceremony
Monstrin Chair, cart version
07 — Final result

A piece of furniture
that transforms.

The same structure serves three ways of playing, and the child makes the change. The furniture stops being an object you use and becomes an object you operate — that's where the sense of achievement the jury pointed out comes from.

Have a piece in mind?

Tell us about the space, the use and the wood you love. We'll design it together from there.

Chat on WhatsApp → (opens in a new tab)