Alison Brooks knew that she wanted an object that would not only be for her but that could go into production. She commissioned Felix de Pass to make her a set of kitchen stools. She wanted a stool that could be used to sit in the kitchen, because she likes the simple sociability and informality that a stool brings as opposed to a chair. Brooks felt that too many stools had a strong industrial ethic, whereas she was looking for something simpler that could work well in a range of environments. And she wanted it to be in American cherry, a timber that she felt was under appreciated, and which her mother collected when she was growing up in Canada.

When asked about her thoughts behind it the commissioner says, ‘The stool that sits at the counter in my kitchen is the most popular seat in the house. I think stools offer a dynamic kind of sitting - they let you perch somewhere to eat or read a paper or work on your laptop, there's a temporary-ness to sitting on a stool; you don’t have to commit to sitting down. I have never been able to find a really great kitchen stool that is the right height for a kitchen counter and that is quiet, clever and beautiful.’