Monica Förster creates a new table system for Fogia, with a material made from upcycled marble waste.
Monica Förster is one of Scandinavia’s most influential designers. Despite a wide range of styles, her distinct design voice is always recognizable – whether in carpets, glass, cutlery, hand-carved bowls, or furniture for Europe’s leading manufacturers. A five-time Designer of the Year in Sweden, Förster is represented in the permanent collection of the National Museum in Stockholm, with exhibitions at MoMA, New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In collaboration with Fogia, she has created Kern, an expressive coffee- and side table series made from a new marble-based material composed of upcycled waste.
A new material as the starting point - Kern is as much a sculpture as it is a table. Both your eyes and hands are drawn to it. Its slightly uneven surface is brushed, not polished, to highlight the natural qualities of the material. “This is a completely new material made from marble waste. It has a fascinating appearance,” says Förster. “We began with the material, which led us to a brutalist form that we softened by breaking off the corners—done by hand, so each table is unique.”
Kern is the first product made of Outt, a marble-based material created to utilize waste from quarries in Northern Italy. This innovative process reuses not just marble chips (often used in terrazzo), but also marble dust as a binder. The result is an upcycled material with a high marble content—around 85%—and a character all its own.
Simple yet dynamic
Kern’s presence is bold, with generous volume and minimal components—just four stone slabs. Yet its simplicity is deceptive: it is a precise, expressive design that creates meaning beyond function. Förster aimed to let the table speak for itself. “To me, it’s about unlocking a world within. Using your hands in creation brings poetry and emotional connection,” she explains.
A furniture piece that evokes wonder
Kern feels both ancient and contemporary. Its material weight contrasts with a gesture of lightness and elegance. It is massive yet graceful, primitive yet refined—echoing everything from prehistoric monuments to Arte Povera. The table’s form shifts with the viewer’s perspective; the coffee table, for instance, resembles a three-dimensional letter, linking to Förster’s fascination with typography. “Typefaces are like tiny sculptures—their imperfections make them both beautiful and legible,” she says. This idea of human imperfection is central to Kern, where even the breaks are handmade.
The design process was exploratory and intuitive. The idea for the broken corners came from a chance delivery of a damaged sample—an accident that led to one of the table’s most defining features. For Förster, serendipity means not only finding something valuable but recognising its worth.
Kern is primarily designed for indoor use but is also suitable for outdoor environments. Kern is available in 3 colours: White, Grey & Terracotta Brown.
