Log stools made with fire

If you happen to have a log laying around, what might you imagine doing with it? Chopping it into firewood? Letting it rot in your garden? Consider this: you could transform it into literally hot seats instead, like these pieces by Kaspar Hamacher.

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Titled ‘Burnt Out’ (Ausgebrannt), well, they are indeed – the char-encrusted voids are the result of searing each seat, carved a unique shape with heat and flame rather than a saw or chisel.

Log stools detail

Kaspar Hamacher strips raw logs of their bark, then sets smaller blazing logs atop the chopped stumps – by criss-crossing and repeating, a pair of bisecting lines slices down into the underside of each seat (leaving four rough-edged legs behind).

The (de)construction work is done, appropriately enough, in a forest atelier setting where the wood can be safely set alight and allowed to burn freely.

Log stools created by burning

Of course, the concept is cool, but in reality the furniture has some issues that need addressing – wastefulness and pollution being obvious, but sealing off the charred remnants might not be the easiest thing either.

More from the designer

“Kaspar Hamacher uses fire to create furniture. Fittingly named ‘ausgebrannt’ which means ‘burned out’ in german. Tree trunks have been cut into segments varying in length. The bark is stripped from the exterior and fire is then used to hollow out parts of the trunk to create legs. Working in Brussels, Kaspar moved back to the forest where he now runs his atelier. The product brought him back to his roots.”

Log stool close up

About Kaspar Hamacher

“Taking nature as his basis, Kaspar Hamacher (1981), Eupen, (BE) is focused resolutely on physical rather than conceptual design. As he says himself, he feels more craftsman than designer The things he can do with wood appeal to the imagination: whether it is a tree stump or a piece of leather, the key is authenticity in every step of his design process. Hamacher’s working method always results in a unique, personal piece. A piece of design with a deeper meaning; with a soul.”