Peter Barens
It is time to get Lacky!
Get Lacky is both a critique and a celebration of IKEA’s Lack—a product that, despite its low-cost materials and simple constuction, has become a global staple. From the perspective of traditional craft, the Lack table appears to lack everything typically assoicated with value: time, skill and material depth. And yet, it thrives.
Chair made from a Ikea Lack shelf, with hand sawn dovetail joints.
This contradiction is what fascinates Peter. Lack occupies a space between utility and disposability, ubiquity and disregard. It challenges how we define value—what we recognize as ‘’designed’’ or ‘’crafted’’ versus what we dismiss as cheap or throwaway.
While its appeal clearly lies in affordability, what makes the Lack work is not its structure, or materiality, but its surface. The finish gives it coherence, presence, and legibility.
Rietveld Steltman Stoel replica, made from cardboard filled material, with a top layer of high-end Louis Vuitton wallpaper.
Viewed outside the lens of mass commercial succeses, Lack represents a surprisingly relevant response to a world of expensive labor and finite resources.
Through surface interventions and shifts in context, Peter aims to reframe the design philosophy behing Lack—not as a sign of decline, but as a symbol of ingenuity. He suggests that efficient construction and economic material use, paired with thoughtful surface design, might offer a more sustainable and contemporary understanding of craft.
This page was last updated on June 18, 2025