'can AI design better faye toogood chairs?' MANUFRACTURE dives into the future of making

Faye Toogood’s MANUFRACTURE at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2025

During Stockholm Furniture Fair 2025, designboom attends MANUFRACTURE, the latest installation by the event’s 20th guest of honor, Faye Toogood. Guided by the British designer herself, we step into a space that strips back the layers of design to reveal the often unseen process behind the objects surrounding us. From delicate maquettes bound with masking tape to entire sculptural furniture collections, MANUFRACTURE explores the meaning of making, presenting fragments of Toogood’s archival work since 2010.

Central to the installation is a set of pressing questions.‘What does it mean to be a designer today? Can AI design a better Faye Toogood chair than Faye Toogood?’ These reflections come at a significant moment in her career—just weeks before the fair, Maison&Objet named her Designer of the Year for its Spring 2025 edition, recognizing her approach to craft and industry.‘The way I’m trying to make sense of it is AI is almost like the birth of photography in the early 20th century when suddenly it felt like there was no need for painting anymore. But in the history of art, it gave birth to abstraction,’ she states. ‘So perhaps coming up now is a really creative and abstract moment for us.’

all images courtesy of Faye Toogood, unless stated otherwise

Craft, Technology, and the Future of Creation

In our conversation, Toogood reveals that, in hindsight, she might have named the exhibition ‘Manifuture’ instead of MANUFRACTURE. Over the past year, her perspective on design and craftsmanship has shifted. The designer now believes that the digital age must serve to humanize us, not detach us from nature and the essence of making. For Toogood, the future of design lies in rewilding humanity—reconnecting with the fundamental act of creation while embracing progress.

She grew up watching her parents move between craft and technology, showing her that making and inventing could go hand in hand. Her father, a scientist at the forefront of computing, also made ceramics on the weekends. Her mother crafted everything at home, from food to clothing. This intrinsic respect for engineering and artistry shaped her approach, positioning her work at the crossroads of design, craft, and industry. Still, she warns against the unchecked dominance of mass manufacturing and technological efficiency over craftsmanship. The balance lies in integrating industrial advancements while preserving the power of the human hand. ‘If we say goodbye to craft, we say goodbye to human action,’ Faye Toogood declares. ‘We need to make peace with technology and see it as a co-conspirator in creativity. We are not being replaced by a robot, but with the power of these two intelligences together, I think we’re going to find something rewarding. So I believe everything needs to start with the hand, which is what you’re looking at here and also believe in the value of the human in our future.’

MANUFRACTURE installation during the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2025 | image by Martin Brusewitz

the designer walks us through part of her evolving archive

MANUFRACTURE is as much about the past as it is about the future. Toogood has emptied half of her archive into the exhibition space—pieces she loves, mistakes she can barely look at, and experiments that never made it into production. The process of revisiting these works, created between 2010 and 2025, has been cathartic, forcing her to confront her own evolution as a designer. It is a reminder that design is never static; it is a continuous dialogue between past, present, and future. Her latest collection, Assemblage 8, is shaped through this philosophy. The Gummy Armchair, her first upholstered chair, is the culmination of years of searching for the right makers and materials, employing sustainable elements like coconut husk and wool.

revealing the often unseen process behind the objects surrounding us | image by Martin Brusewitz

humanizing industry and the power of play

Faye Toogood’s reflections extend beyond design objects to broader concerns about creativity and imagination in an era dominated by screens. She sees a crisis in younger generations who are losing touch with making and playing. For her, play is a tool for connection and a fundamental aspect of creativity.‘Imagination is so important for creating ideas and living out ideas and thought processes. So I think actually the crisis at the moment is more with our really young generation and childhood, the loss of childhood,’ she explains.

She also notes a shift in the design world itself. The days of creating for aesthetic value alone are over—objects must now carry meaning, align with sustainability goals, and serve humanity. Even the largest production companies are still reliant on human intelligence to write the codes that power machines.

Faye Toogood presents fragments her archival work since 2010 | image by Martin Brusewitz