At Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design festival, Dutch manufacturer Aifunghi is debuting a series of furry mycelium chairs that prove sustainable furniture doesn’t have to look drab and can actually be produced at a “semi-industrial” scale.
The company, founded by a group of former Moooi product developers, is billed as the first design brand dedicated entirely to making mycelium furniture both appealing and attainable for the masses.
Aifunghi is launching at 3 Days of Design
“We wanted to make it – although I hate the word – a little bit more sexy,” said Bart Schilder, who started Aifunghi alongside his wife Marije.
“We didn’t want to make something that is alienating, but something that’s really usable and available as well. People can buy it.”
The furry chairs form part of the company’s debut collection of ten pieces alongside a series of tables and lamps, developed in collaboration with fellow Moooi alumni Michiel Geluk and Mo Aouraghé, who are partners in the business.
The company makes “sexy” mycelium furniture
All the pieces are made from a bio-composite developed by Aifunghi’s sister company Growmolding, which consists of hemp fibres combined with mycelium – also known as the root structure of fungi.
As the mycelium grows to consume the hemp, this naturally binds the fibres together and creates a strong, mouldable material, held together entirely without plastic.
In fact, the chairs are entirely free of petroleum-derived plastics and 100 per cent compostable, according to Aifunghi, with padding provided via a bio-foam made from seaweed by Norwegian biomaterials start-up Agoprene.
Seaweed bio-foam provides padding for the chairs
For the upholstery, Aifunghi used a plastic-free fake fur called BioFluff that is made using nettle, hemp and flax fibres sourced from agricultural waste streams. The material was previously used by fashion brand Ganni for a collection of fluffy handbags.
According to Aifunghi, the dining chair is the world’s first mycelium chair to pass the EN16139 Level 1 test for contract seating, meaning it can withstand up to 30 years of heavy use.
“We want to make it available for contract, so you can actually buy 40 pieces and they’ll all be the same,” Schilder told Dezeen. “That’s our mission.”
To achieve this mission, Growmolding has set up a “semi-industrial scale” factory in the Dutch city of Enkhuizen that can produce up to 1,200 pieces per year.
This sets Aifunghi products apart from the slew of other mycelium furniture launched in recent years, which is generally produced as one-offs or in very limited runs.
BioFluff faux fur made from plant fibres was used to cover the shaggy lamps
The collection also includes the Campinio pendant and table lamps, which feature plant-based fur exteriors and mycelium interiors that produce a soft, diffused light.
Meanwhile, the Bolete side tables combine upholstered bases with fused glass tabletops, made from glass shards that are a by-product of making mouth-blown glass objects.
For Aifunghi’s furniture, the salvaged glass shards are fused together to create panels that each display a unique structure and colour composition.
The designs are currently on show as part of the Material Matters exhibition
Aifunghi is showing its first collection as part of the Material Matters exhibition at 3 Days of Design.
Other stand-out launches from the design festival include a portable table lamp by Lee Broom and a many-fingered pouf by Kusheda Mensah, marking Hem’s first-ever collaboration with a Black designer.
Aifunghi’s debut collection is on display at Ukraine House in Copenhagen from 18 to 20 June 2025 as part 3 Days of Design. See Dezeen Events Guide for more events taking place in the Danish capital and elsewhere around the world.
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