The art of the pivot

In 2020, everything shifted outdoors. Front yards became lounges. Parks became meeting spots. Like many, Common Tiger founder Laura Rogers found herself spending more time outside and quickly discovered most portable chairs weren’t cutting it.

Flimsy. Clunky. Forgettable. Built for utility, not experience. Laura saw an opportunity to reimagine the outdoor chair – one that hadn’t evolved in decades.

Laura brought a bold idea, not a background in product design. That’s where we came in.

Our challenge: turn a frustration into a refined folding chair. Something portable, comfortable, and genuinely beautiful. A chair that elevated the everyday outdoor experience.

The market was flooded with camping gear. Big on function, low on comfort and aesthetics. We saw a chance to make something that worked for everyday people who care about how things feel, and how they look.

We ran research, built personas, and tested every sitting scenario we could imagine. The feedback was clear: people wanted a chair that delivered real comfort without looking like it belonged in a tent.

That became our focus – a chair you’d actually want to sit in, and be seen with.

We aimed for refined simplicity. Clean geometry and purposeful materiality. The silhouette borrows from Scandinavian interiors: confident, minimal, and unmistakably premium.

But this wasn’t just about the look. We built ergonomic jigs, tested dozens of frame configurations, and tuned every angle. Early studies made one thing clear – lumbar support mattered. So we took a page from office ergonomics, introducing a signature kink in the backrest inspired by the Herman Miller Aeron. It’s the kind of detail that disappears when you sit, but makes you want to stay.

Most folding chairs fold like they were never meant to unfold again. We knew we could do better.

We re-engineered the folding mechanism from scratch, introducing a secondary pivot point that enhances backrest support while still allowing the frame to fold completely flat. It’s clean, clever, and incredibly satisfying to use – like it was always supposed to work this way.

The Daymaker doesn’t just adapt to your environment – it adapts to you.

We built in an intuitive accessory system, with subtle mounts baked right into the frame. Add-ons snap in, not stick out. And with interchangeable fabric shells, you can switch up the look or swap out worn materials without tossing the chair.

This isn’t just about personalisation. It’s about longevity, circularity, and building a product that evolves with the person using it.