Throughout the years I can remember several sports coaches who have decided that metaphors are the best way to teach my basketball or soccer teams the importance of working together. While I usually tried tuning out when their halftime talks involved a Remember the Titans line, I valued their passion for the “there’s no ‘I’ in ‘TEAM'” theory. Using a similar idea for cohesion and the importance of “being as strong as the weakest link”, Simon Busse designed the Marionet side table for Mox that is appearing this week at the DMY Berlin show.

Marionet side table. Designed by Simon Busse. Manufactured by Mox.

Sheet Metal, Oak Wood and a Rubber Handle Keep the Marionet Side Table Upright in Unison

The tabletop interacts directly with the base in harmony using the idea described by Busse as “only the connections between the (body) parts, joints and threads hold together the marionette; if one of the components is missing it collapses.” Made of a base that uses three, flat wooden legs twisted toward one another, Busse created the table to stand firmly only if all of the parts find their central bond – a metal connective element – to hook them in place.

Three blades fixed to the middle, metal element fit exactly into the small indentations of the wooden legs. Additionally, a hook on the top of the metal piece holds what they refer to as the “marionette’s string” – also known as a colored elastic band – that becomes a carrying handle.

As a continuation of its structural integrity, Busse designed the Marionet table with materials which “are deliberately pure”. The legs are made from solid Oak wood, the connecting central piece and table top are of solid, powder-coated metal, and the carrying band of elastic is made of rubber.

Working together becomes the only option for the little collaboration of elements within the Marionet table as it hits the DMY Berlin show this week in Germany.

About the Designer: Simon Busse is a designer based in the beautiful West Stuttgart area of the modern, furniture design-driven city in Germany whose worldly experience has brought him to architect firms and design studios in Barcelona, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Bielefeld and beyond. His inventive side has created colorful and solution-based pieces that include seating, tables, lighting, etc. for clients such as Almerich, Magazin, Mox, Novacret, Plot and Softline, among others.