Gowanus Lounge is thrilled to report that we are now in possession of “The Rounder,” a super-cool stool (with storage space inside) that we won for taking Second Place in the Design Sponge Brooklyn photo contest a while back. Not only does the Gowanus Lounge home base now have a wonderful new piece of furniture on which GL can park posteriors and store things, we had the pleasure of talking with the designer, Curt Meissner.

Meissner is the Brooklyn-based designer who is behind the Small Factory Design, and part of the fast-growing world of Brooklyn design. Thus far, the business is entirely home-grown. As it develops, Meissner—who is a Sunset Park resident–hopes to find a local manufacturer to build the furniture he designs—rather than shipping production overseas as many firms do. Meissner is also a Brooklyn devotee and, when he’s not designing furniture, says that he is bicycling all over the borough checking out streets and neighborhoods that are far off the usual Brooklyn Heights-Park Slope beaten path.

The really cool thing about Small Factory Design furniture is that it’s produced with sustainable bamboo plywood. Fabrics are produced without waste and utilize things like re-purposed denim for cushions. Doors are made of recycled-paper based plastic. Even the wax finishes are natural citrus-based.

Best of all, Meissner’s creations are elegant, cool and functional.