Stella by Patrick Frey

Reduction to the essentials. The Stella model is a solid wood chair that impresses with its clear lines and reduction. Without sacrificing comfort.

Smooth straightness

The German designer Patrick Frey has developed a piece of furniture that is above all timeless.

The armrests and backrests are made of curved oak wood, the fine arch of which dynamically clings to the seated person. A design that is preceded by a long and intensive development phase.

The aim was to transform a static-looking wooden chair into dynamic seating furniture that shines with its seating comfort. The filigree feet run from the armrest element down to the floor and meanwhile carry the seat, which seems to float on struts crossed in the middle.

Stella is available in black and natural, upholstered or unpadded.

A conversation about craft and innovation

Freifrau spoke to Patrick Frey about the elaborate development of the new Freifrau solid wood chair Stella.

FREIFRAU: Stella is not your first design for the Freifrau brand. Do you remember the beginning of the collaboration?
PATRICK FREY: Yes, and how! 5 years ago at the furniture fair in Cologne I got to know Hansjörg Helweg for the first time. It was again one of those years in which it was said everywhere that the principle of the fair was out of date and had no future...When I went through the fair, I discovered Freifrau's booth and was thrilled to discover a new brand.

FF: The Stella solid wood chair is now the third design for Freifrau. What is the essence behind the design idea?
PF: Basically, I love simple shapes. Let's take the farm chair as an example. Good material, a durable processing method and a clearly recognizable purpose determined the design at that time. I was also inspired by this for Stella. Our goal was to create a high-quality armrest chair made entirely of wood, which on the one hand had a statically reduced effect, but then turned out to be comfortable seating when sitting - in a trained Freifrau philosophy.

FF: And the solution looked like ...?
PF: To be honest, this task was anything but easy and the design process was relatively lengthy. The magic word was shaped wood, with which we managed to integrate pleasant flexibility into the backrest. We have thus succeeded in a true evolution: a chair that is reduced to the essentials in terms of form and does not lose any of its seating comfort.

FF: Where do you see Stella integrated?
PF: In principle, everywhere - whether in the restaurant or at home at the dining table. Due to the simple elegance of the chair, it fits almost anywhere. I can imagine that people with a penchant for Scandinavian design can find a new and unexpected product within the Freifrau portfolio in Stella. Stella also has the chance to become a new classic.

FF: Thank you for the interview, dear Patrick.
PF: My pleasure!

Patrick Frey

Patrick Frey was born in Seoul, South Korea. 
Together with his team, he worked for internationally renowned manufacturers such as Villeroy & Boch, Bree, Nils Holger Moormann, Burgbad and Flötotto. His designs have won international awards, including the IF Product Design Award, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award, Reddot Design Award.. In the first year Patrick Frey already won the highly endowed prize for junior designers, the Lucky Strike Junior Design Award. His objects have been shown in many international exhibitions. Since 2014 he is Professor for productdesign at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover.