"The design, with all of its angles, nooks and crannies, took months to solve, in close dialogue with the manufacturer right here in Denmark. I sent them sketches, they sent them back telling me what couldn’t be done, I adjusted. It was a bit of a ping pong between us, the last adjustments being microscopic but crucial to create its characteristic shape," — Thomas Bentzen
Taking cue from the classic toolboxes he would use in his brief career as a carpenter, Thomas Bentzen refined the archetypal shape into something that feels both familiar and delightfully tongue-in-cheek. The idea behind it came to be as he was reviewing his cardboard models:
"Making physical models of ideas and sketches allows me to just create and experiment underway. To ask myself: when is it functional? When does it have character? It is interesting to play with that balance.
Yet the truly special moment is looking at them all afterward, with a different gaze and realizing that something interesting has occurred in the process or evolved. I ran with the idea of an architectural quality — quite literally a house with room for all of your stuff — while trying to keep some of the original references."
Thomas Bentzen Being cast in one piece and in one material without using glue or screws, it is a process as simple as can be, yet immensely complex to produce. There are no excessive, expensive processes involved. It’s a very straight-forward design of really high quality, he says, giving a little knock on the back of Sketch.
Thomas Bentzen The portable element is so important, because our way of working or creating has shifted. We don’t necessarily have a fixed workspace as we move around across multiple surfaces at home and at work.
Like a house, the toolbox has various rooms to accommodate specific functions and needs. In his own studio, Sketch Toolbox holds his tools for 3D printing in the workshop and pencils for drawing at his table.
He’s seen it in the bedroom, bathroom, on the kitchen table or by the stove. The toolbox feels truly at home where we create. It is there to hold your tools, whatever they may be; crayons, cutlery or pearls.
"My youngest son draws in his bedroom, in the kitchen, on the floor. If it wouldn’t have that handle, he wouldn’t bring it with him. I’m happy to see he does," — Thomas Bentzen ends.