One of the first furniture pieces Leah Ring ever made was the Stacks bench, released in the inaugural collection of her now-one-year-old L.A. design studio, Another Human. Each cushion—some round, others square, and one a bit shorter than a twin-sized mattress—can be arranged as its user prefers, resulting in a seat that allows for impromptu sprawling and, when its pillows are piled high, a small, urban apartment–friendly footprint. Upholstered in glistening gray velvet, the bench is Ring’s loose interpretation of a tower of meditation stones, like those one might see in a Zen garden. Glee can be found on multiple levels here: The sheer fun of building or bouncing on top of a tower of cushions taps into the sitter’s inner creative (and inner child). What’s more, the bench offers a refreshing take on the modular sofa, exchanging bland shapes and limited configurations for a couch that, when in use, looks as if it came straight out of a Cubist painting, gloriously abstract yet weirdly familiar.
Taken in context with the other home pieces she’s debuted since then (acrylic tables filled with tinsel, hand-quilted metallic lamé blankets, mirrors anchored by glittery geodes), it’s clear that Ring has been doing a bit of thinking herself: specifically about how to evolve familiar forms, and the importance of imbuing them with a sense of joy. On June 8, the 32-year-old Ring, who is also an interior designer, will debut the Stacks bench in a new, lustrous navy hue with thick corduroy details during the L.A. Design Festival at Intro/L.A. Made to order and crafted by hand in California, the clever seat illustrates Ring’s dedication to a kind of playful geometry, where shapes hold a purpose, evoke a feeling, and, when left alone, serve as functional works of art.
