Twist Me! Bookcase with Screwing Bookends by Mejd Studio

Twist Me! Bookcase with 7 Books

The Twist Me! bookcase was developed by Slovakian group Mejd Studio during the Lost & Found workshop which was setup by CA Flowers for Slovakia and high-end office furniture company Vitra. The workshop focused on the idea of ‘readymades’, a concept pioneered by artist Marcel Duchamp which gave us works such as Fountain. The teams were tasked with creating a new design by incorporating a piece of discarded Vitra office furniture and a traditional folklore item.

Close-up of Screwing Mechanism and Bookend Plate in Twist Me! Bookcase

Twist Me! explores the field of hybrid readymades by combining a discarded office rack by Vitra made from perforated metal sheet and a bookbinding plough. This traditional tool is comprised of two flat plates which can be tightened using a screwing mechanism to hold a book firmly in place while the edges are trimmed. I find it very satisfying that a book themed object has been reused to serve a different purpose also related to books.

The Traditional Bookbinders Plough Tool Used in Twist Me!

Screwing Wingnut of Traditional Bookbinder's Plough in Twist Me!

The end result is a minimalistic yet playful bookshelf which is also highly practical. The plates of the bookbinding plough essentially serve as book-ends and allow any number of books to be kept on the shelf without them annoyingly toppling over every time you grab one.

Screwing Twist Me! Bookcase by Mejd Studio

Using Twist Me! is simply a fun experience and I think this is an often neglected aspect of furniture design which Mejd Studio have luckily managed to retain in their work. Accommodating the screws and wingnuts does mean that there is a fair bit of wasted space in the Twist Me! bookcase as the rods protrude from the ends and prevent you from storing larger objects on either side of the bookbinding plates, but I think this is a small price to pay for such a well executed and playful piece of industrial furniture design.

Twist Me! Bookcase by Mejd Studio without Books

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