DnA Design Pick: Scout Regalia’s Ranger Stool

Many of the LA artists and designers I’ve interviewed for DnA have an affinity for keeping both their production and supplies American-made. This week’s featured designers Makoto Mizutani and Benjamin Luddy of Scout Regalia, an outdoorsy design duo, are no different. Established in 2006, Scout Regalia is an Echo Park-based design practice that calls itself “obsessed with the design and fabrication of space, furniture, home products, graphic identities, material processes, and sustainable living.” And their work, which draws inspiration from national parks and natural materials, evokes a homegrown, DIY vibe, even though their furniture is mass produced locally.

After meeting at SCI-Arc, Luddy and Mizutani were determined to break into the world of architecture, only to find their efforts thwarted by the economic downturn. Instead of pushing for architecture projects that never materialized, they started creating clever products that they found themselves needing around the house. Their first product, the SR Garden Kit, consisted of powder-coated steel brackets that came with instructions on how to build planter boxes, including sourcing the wood. The kit was a smashing success, and Luddy and Mizutani went on to design tables, stools and other accessories with the same aesthetic.

And it’s funny how life comes full circle: Eventually Scout Regalia became so well-known for their furniture that they were tapped to design spaces, like the New Belgium Ranger Station in Snowmass, Colorado. So after all these years of detouring through product design, they’re finally getting those architectural projects they hungered for as recent grads.

Of course, they’re still focused on their products: The duo manufactures many of their goods at the Lincoln Heights factory Angell & Giroux (which is also where another DnA interviewee, Brendan Ravenhill, produces much of his furniture). Here you can see their Ranger stools sailing through the air as they pass through the powder-coating process that creates that lovely rich color on the steel frame.

You can hear my conversation with them on this DnA where we talked about keeping manufacturing local, as well as keeping things interesting when living and working together 24/7.

This week’s product from Scout Regalia is a stool that was originally designed for the New Belgium Ranger Station. The SR Ranger Stools are made of white oak and powder-coated steel. At 18″ high, the Junior Ranger Stool is perfect as a step stool, side table, or desk seating. Storage space included under the seat. Available in Fern Green, exclusive to KCRW.

11” x 13” x 18”. Powder-coated steel and white oak hardwood. Made in Los Angeles.

DnA Design Picks: A commissioned series of art and design objects by up and coming designers – limited edition, one-of-a-kind, and exclusive items, available to KCRW supporters at the KCRW Store.