Daystak chair, table & desk – &Tradition 🇩🇰 Robin Day, 1951

Thanks to him, Robin Day received many orders. These included Hillestak, a series of furniture for the British company Hille, which included his first stacking chair.

Renamed Daystak, this series includes a chair, a table and a desk.

Daystak chair

Materials Solid beech, beech and walnut veneer

Dimensions 50 x 48 x H76 cm – Seat height 46 cm

The Daystak chair occupies an important place in Day's history. It recalls the days when he made furniture from found materials, living in his first London flat in Markham Square. In those days, Day employed innovative techniques such as hand-bending plywood using steam from a kettle.

‘The chair was manufactured in large quantities and used in schools, canteens and church halls, as well as domestic spaces,’ comments Paula Day, daughter of Robin Day and chair of the Robin Day and Lucienne Day Foundation. ‘It has been an incredible success. Until the polypropylene chair launched in 1964, the Hillestak was probably Robin's best-selling model.’

beech

beech + walnut

Daystak table & desk

Materials Solid beech, beech veneer, Fenix Nano laminate

Table 122 x 61 x H71 cm

Desk 122 x 61 x H71 cm Drawer 46 x 45 x H25 cm

The Daystak table and desk work in perfect harmony with the Daystak chair. The table has a unique stacking capability, while the desk also features a solid wood drawer with visible dovetail joinery.

‘The Daystak table is another example of how Robin highlights furniture construction, celebrating rather than hiding it,’ comments Paula Day. ‘As with the chair, the construction of the legs is the main feature of the design.

beech

beech + nano laminate

beech

beech + nano laminate

Robin Day

Born and raised in the furniture-making town of High Wycombe, Robin Day (1915-2010) grew up surrounded by lumberyards and cabinet-making workshops. After studying at High Wycombe Technical Institute and High Wycombe School of Art, and working as a draughtsman in a local furniture factory, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of London.

At the time he was studying at the RCA, the product, furniture and interiors design departments were in their infancy, allowing Day to chart his own educational course. After graduating, his aspirations to become a furniture designer were put on hold due to the outbreak of the Second World War. Instead, he developed his skills by making drawings and models for architects, signing signs, producing window displays for fashion boutiques and teaching technical drawing and lettering on a part-time basis. He later became a renowned exhibition designer, meticulously taking care of every detail, from the composition of the installation to the production of the poster.

In 1948, the Museum of Modern Art in New York issued a call for entries for its international competition for low-cost furniture. The announcement matched Day's democratic approach to design, so he entered with his friend and contemporary Clive Latimer. Their modular plywood storage system not only won first place in its category, but also kick-started Day's career as a furniture designer. The attention he attracted led to a partnership with British furniture company Hille (for whom he created the Hillestak collection), a commission to design all the furniture for the Royal Festival Hall and projects for the 1951 Festival of Britain, including sets of pieces for the Homes and Gardens Pavilion, which featured his RFH lounge and dining chairs - now part of our collection of classics.