Stories
With more than 1 million produced, The Dots have become a true Muuto icon through its characterful and functional expression. The Dots take a playful approach to the conventional coat hook with infinite possibilities for customization where no two The Dots walls are the same. Wanting to learn more about the design, we visited the site that brings The Dots into the world and spoke to designer Lars Tornøe about his friendly family of coat hooks.
“The idea for the Dots came from something that wasn’t really design-related. I wanted to make a mobile with circled pieces of wood in different heights. While working on the sketches, I discovered that it wasn’t a mobile at all—it was a coat hook!” says designer Lars Tornøe. In fact, the very idea of the Dots goes back to that wooden mobile: circles arranged in unique combinations of various sizes and colors.
Elaborating on the iconic shape of the Dots, Tornøe says: “Dots Wood are composed of two pieces of wood that have been glued together. They’re put in a lathe and carefully shaped into the final form,” while noting that “The design is shaped so that there’s minimal waste of material.”
To Tornøe, the most unique thing about the Dots is its possibilities: “the Dots are very versatile and can be used anywhere, whether it be the living room, a hallway, the kitchen or the bedroom. With the numerous colors across various sizes, you can combine the Dots exactly as you want. The possibilities are infinite,” he says.
In 2018, Dots Metal were introduced to the iconic family of hooks. Setting themselves apart in both scale and material, the Dots Metal are crafted in a robust material, making it possible to use them as a knob on drawers, cabinets and closet doors.
Created as the latest member of the Dots Series, the Dots Ceramic were introduced in 2019, bringing an artful expression to the design through a new, modern material. The Dots Ceramic are crafted with a reactive glaze for a unique and sophisticated look, giving each piece a distinct appearance, making for an artful expression and refined touch while echoing the ideas of traditional, fine craftsmanship.
“Dots strike the delicate balance of form and function to a high degree, making them a decorative object even when they’re not in use. It gives the design a friendly and playful character that really adds to the atmosphere of any room,” Tornøe ends.
