Inspired by a yellow plastic stepstool from Hanna Dausch’s childhood, Sit Up to Be Tall, Sit Down to Be Small takes its name from the phrase engraved on its surface: “step up to be tall, sit down to be small.” Reimagined as a bench with varying seat heights, the piece celebrates the small objects and everyday memories that help us find our place.

Made from cherry, a durable hardwood known for its warm reddish tones and fine, even grain, the bench features two bases of different heights connected by a slanted middle, creating a playful variation in form and function.

Hanna Dausch of Han Studio is a woodworker and furniture maker based in Pittsburgh PA. Working primarily with turned wood, Dausch develops forms that simultaneously functions as furniture and sculptural art with an emphasis on material, scale, and the ways objects settle into a space.