Can a product inform us of the process and the conditions under which it was made? And can the final form of a product be in perfect dialogue with the process? Dutch designer Jólan van der Wiel marries the forces of gravity and magnetism in creating his Gravity Stool series.

Van der Wiel’s research, entitled ‘Nothing is Something’, explored the use and visualisation of something that's omnipresent and surrounds us, in this case, gravity. By developing a guillotine-like tool equipped with large magnets, making a mold, and concocting a material consisting of 50% polyurethane and 50% iron, the designer allows the final form of the object to be determined by magnetism and gravity. The resulting process is an awesome display of the growth and transformation of the raw material into a functional form. The Gravity Stool is a freakish object that evokes the violent force under which it was created, however is surprisingly flexible to the touch; what appear to be sharp shards of metal will bend to the touch.

The chain of production is scaled down to a one-person micro-factory, the sole employees of which are van der Wiel and, of course, the laws of nature. The process is being applied to other objects to include into the Gravity family.