Seat and step stool as well as side table and bedside table in one: This small universal piece of furniture made of solid wood is versatile and impresses above all with its stable construction: To ensure that the furniture can also withstand greater loads (for example in its function as a step), it is: 1. A force-fit construction (the four legs do not meet the two horizontal boards at right angles, but are angled - this ensures stability through static friction), 2. glued and 3. additionally screwed (the blind holes with end dowels are glued and sanded over). The step stool is made in Germany - from oiled oak wood from southern Germany or matt black lacquered ash wood.

Radical reduction in form and material and a complete focus on function - that is the guiding principle behind the furniture from Auerberg. These are handcrafted products that are designed away from industrial standards, far removed from fashion and uninfluenced by marketing constraints and produced in small batches. Behind every single piece of furniture is the authentic personality of the respective designer - and because there is no restrictive program dictate, the product designers are only committed to their own standards. Accordingly, all Auerberg furniture is unmistakable, sometimes purist to the point of stubbornness, extremely solid in terms of craftsmanship and thus virtually made to last.

The furniture is manufactured regionally in Upper Bavaria and the wood - mostly oak, ash and beech - comes from certified forestry operations. The mastermind behind Auerberg is Christoph Böninger, once a professional globetrotter, now a settled design publisher. Well-connected in design circles, Böninger works in Munich and on his farm in Auerberg - hence the name of the project - near Bad Aibling. And even though Böninger has gathered a number of designers and architects around him for his "product lab" - with established greats standing alongside up-and-coming talent - he still lends a hand himself. Sometimes he oils wooden furniture and gets it ready for shipping. Incidentally, Auerberg's greatest successes to date include the AEKI step stool by Gerhardt Kellermann and the "Silent Ladder" by Christoph Böninger himself, a versatile hybrid of stepladder and silent servant.