With the first warm winds of an early spring upon us, perhaps it's time to dust off October's detritus and re-introduce that arresting arsenal of patio furniture back into the great outdoors. Even better, perhaps it's time to retire said arsenal and explore some of the new innovative concepts in outdoor sitting or reclining. In fact, I got a head start on spring-time relaxation earlier this year with a look at the re-invention of the hammock (Mua) and the re-invention of the Cabaña (Kokoon).

Knotted Chair. Designed by Marcel Wanders for Droog.

Following this trend, here's an idea: get down to Droog's new store at 76 Greene Street in NYC, and consider another item for your outdoor ensemble, the conspicuously-named Knotted Chair... For me, "Droog" will forever refer to the cadre of sociopathic buddies in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, but for Renny Ramakers, Director of Droog Design, its meaning is altogether different: "Droog is not a style; it is a mentality and an approach to the creative process. If a design engages and examines existing materials with the goal of creating a practical, simple object-and if that creative concept is both revelatory and inspirational-we can then call that object Droog."

Ramakers might have based his assessment on Marcel Wanders inspired chair-the first piece I've ever seen that's constructed of mostly negative space. Described by Droog as "macram© meets high tech," Wanders' piece is an agglomeration of artful knots; courtesy of Wanders' nimble fingers, the carbon and arimide fiber is woven and tied into "the shape of a chair," which is then hung upon a frame and infused with resin. With the aid of gravity, and what Wanders calls "epoxy impregnation," the slackened silhouette becomes an unchangable chair.

The process reminds me of a droopy marionette, come to life at the twitch of a puppeteer's fingers. And according to Wanders, the Knotted Chair has much in common with that most famous of puppets-Pinocchio: "despite all its modern technology, the Knotted Chair has a lovely doltishness which brings out its individual and personal character." True enough, but beyond its unique appearance, the Knotted Chair is a clarion call for re-thinking how we use materials (and what materials we use). In fact, I can't think of an object that better exemplifies Ramaker's desire for "practical, simple objects that are both revelatory and inspirational"-how very Droog indeed.