The Knit Wiggle

Designing a modular, multi-functional furniture object that reveals color in an expandable fabric.


The Knit Wiggle is a modular inflatable that transcends traditional boundaries of static furniture, creating flexible spaces out of thin air. It was exhibited at a cross-disciplinary exhibition showcased at Salone Satellite during Milan Design Week. The exhibition, titled Objects May Shift is a cross-pollination of ideas, materials, and scales that investigate our relationship to the domestic interior.

In its resting state, The Knit Wiggle is an inconspicuous cushioned bench, a warm and inviting place for community dialogue. Within seconds, the bench expands into a dividing wall that builds private and intimate spaces. As it inflates, a hidden landscape is revealed in the knitted upholstery, encouraging moments of mindfulness and wonder. Multiple walls can nestle together, making an adaptable division of space. Designed for creative collaboration and innovation, The Knit Wiggle reimagines the future of interiors—dynamic, intriguing and ever-evolving.


    a cushioned seat for community dialogue
    a dividing wall for privacy in public
    Deflated: L 30” - W 20” - H 18"
    Inflated: L 30” - W 25” - H 60"

    One of my favorite pieces was Yukti Agarwal and Kipper Reinsmith’s Knit Wiggle, a modular inflatable piece that grew, at the press of a button, from a cushioned beanbag to a wiggly room divider that could be nestled with a partner to create even more privacy; as it inflated, the beauty of Agarwal’s knitted upholstery revealed itself, stretching into a rainbow of yarns.

    - Jill Singer
    Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sight Unseen

    How Do We Live Now? In Milan, RISD’s Objects May Shift Exhibition Offered a Woozy Vision for Our Domestic Future


    The fabric expands up to 8 times its resting state and spontaneously recovers to its original form. It has 100% wool on the surface and elicits a sense of warmth and comfort. It is soft and visceral—it dresses the interior, much like how a sweater dresses the body.  It uses color as the primary tool for engagement, where a hidden landscape is revealed in the knitted upholstery as it inflates, to encourage moments of curiosity and wonder.






    The Knit Wiggle, 2024

    Collaborative Project for RISD, 12 weeks
    Product design, material innovation, modular furniture design, inflatable structures


    Created with Kipper Thomas Reinsmith
    Advised by Anais Missakian and Pete Oyler


    Objects May Shift

    Dezeen The New York Times Sight Unseen Stir RISD News I+S Design  Design Release  Digital Marketing News  E-Flux

     
    Images by Erik Gould and Mark Johnson