In 1996 TOTEM produced the first line of furniture designed with ecology in mind. Today we still believe that a well-designed product has to resolve functional and formal problems, but it must also address commerce and production issues. In order to produce and sell, choices are made, researching and developing new products can and must also be the occasion for making these choices in a more aware way. In particular, TOTEM designs and produces wooden furniture, a renewable resource, a resource which needs to be protected and should be used in a planned, disciplined way. Wood is not only precious, but the forests where it grows are ecological and social systems for those who inhabit them.

In 2005 TOTEM began to develop products in Bolivia, a country going through a new political and cultural season which is making the native populations the protagonists of development and change, as they reclaim their ownership of the country’s natural resources. Bolivia, covered for over 50% by tropical forests (roughly 1,000,000 acres), is one of the countries with the largest presence ecologically and ethically certified forests in the world. TOTEM has thus begun working in Bolivia with Bolivians, designing two new product lines, one of which is manufactured in Santa Cruz (a tropical region) and one in Cochabamba (in the Andes). The Urubichà community weaves the fabric components according to their traditions and esthetic sense.

The photos in Bolivia

TOTEM site, old version

In 1996 TOTEM was founded as a design studio dedicated to innovative construction systems for wooden furniture. The basic criteria was ease of assembly/disassembly, absence of tools or glue, use of sustainable raw materials and the simplicity of handling the products. All of the products knock down into flat packages so they can be transported and stored easily and to reduce the waste generated by bulky packaging. Since 1997, besides furniture design, TOTEM also began to produce and sell a line of products made from laser-cut E1 plywood.

In 1999 TOTEM began designing innovative furniture for children, designed with preschools in mind: all of the objects can be stacked, are lightweight and easy to assemble. In addition to furniture, a flexible, modular space organization system was also designed using different materials (wood, bamboo, fabric, etc.) to create both open and enclosed spaces.

All of the furniture comes unassembled in a flat pack which includes all of the wooden parts, accessories if any, instructions and a bottle of oil to finish and maintain the surfaces.

All of our products can be easily disassembled for transport and storage without using bulky packing materials. Each kit includes the plywood components, illustrated assembly instructions and the finish.

The kits are designed so they can be put together and taken apart many times without effecting the strength and durability of the joints. No metal parts are used in our designs as they tend to wear out the wood and make the connections weak and unstable.

The joints are not hidden but rather they are highlighted so it is easy to understand how the piece 'works' even after it has been mounted.

The joints express the very nature of the objects, the logic underlying their construction and their function.

The basis for our choice of materials is that they have to be recognizable. Thus we do not use wood or wood derivated panels which hide their ‘ingredients’, or synthetic paints or stains which completely cover surfaces making them feel and smell the same and ‘remove’ their natural properties, like absorbing or reflecting light, or conducting sound.