The SpoolStool makes power available when needed, but hides it underneath a tasteful European Beech veneer. Photo: Joe Levy Design student Joe Levy is a digital native busy redesigning classic products to accommodate modern technology. Photo: Joe Levy Tacky plastic takes a back seat to timeless hardwoods in this design. Photo: Joe Levy The SpoolStool enables technology, but isn't limited by it. The stool can still be used for analog sketching or simply to support a cuppa. Photo: Joe Levy The only major weakness of the design is connecting the stool's legs with power plugs. The idea is too clever by half while reducing the functionality by 75 percent. Despite the technical limitations Levy is enthusiastic about the concept. "I also enjoyed playing with the idea of mockingbuggy whip. Joe Levy, a 20-year-old design student from New Zealand, is trying to cut through this Gordian knot of charger cords and HDMI cables with a new approach to furniture design for the age of gadgets.

His first attempt, the SpoolStool, is a multifunctional object that can be used as a seat, small desk, or with the legs removed – a large wooden power strip. "The SpoolStool design was born purely out of hatred for extension cords," says Levy. "I hate the clutter and tangled mess that they create. I enjoyed the thought of creating an aesthetically pleasing extension cord that didn't sit in the corner of a room half-hidden."

The SpoolStool achieves a level of elegance by hiding messy circuitry inside a couple inches of hardwood. Cheap plastic