On 19 November, as part of the nationwide career day, EXTERY urban furniture welcomed third‑grade pupils from Tallinn City Centre Primary Schoo to our urban furniture studio. The visit was a great opportunity to introduce the children to the world of urban furniture design, production and marketing. They saw how the EXTERY team works together to create the park benches, chairs and tables that appear in parks and public spaces across Estonia and beyond. Inviting children behind the scenes not only supports community involvement but also strengthens EXTERY Urban Furniture’s mission to design and manufacture sustainable urban furniture in Estonia.
Our tour began in the EXTERY design studio, the creative heart of our urban furniture design process. Designer Pent Talvet explained how new EXTERY products are created – from sketching initial ideas to refining shapes, materials and details. He emphasised that good urban furniture design must be both functional and timeless and gave examples from our Veer and Linn seating families. By seeing Pent’s sketches and hearing the inspiration stories, the pupils gained insight into the creative side of sustainable urban furniture development.
We continued the introduction in the production zone, where the pupils had the chance to assemble a park chair themselves. They followed instructions and started putting together the wooden boards and metal parts. To our surprise, all of them had already used a drill, and the task went very enthusiastically. Assembling a park chair in the real EXTERY production area turned out to be the highlight of the day.
Next we invited the pupils back to our showroom. By then everyone already had a brief overview of the urban furniture design process and the nature of a product. The pupils were able to try the role of an urban furniture designer themselves. Equipped with paper and coloured pencils, they sketched their own park bench concepts. The results were as varied as the participants themselves – some benches were curved and organic, while others had a more angular geometry.
By drawing lots, we selected one of the pupils’ designs to recreate as a 3D model using CAD software. Our production manager Argo demonstrated how design ideas are transformed into technical drawings and how a three-dimensional park bench is built in the program. He showed how every detail, angle, and component can be adjusted and refined. The pupils also had the chance to colour and modify the bench themselves in the 3D environment.
To conclude the visit, our marketing and sales team members explained how EXTERY’s urban furniture reaches customers. We discussed how new products are launched, presented on our website, featured in catalogues, and communicated to partners. The pupils discovered that even the best-designed park benches and chairs need a story, strong branding, and dedicated teamwork before they find their way into parks, squares, and schoolyards.
By the end of the day, it was clear that the class had gained a comprehensive overview of the EXTERY urban furniture process — from the first spark of inspiration to the final bench or chair in public space. Their curiosity and enthusiasm reminded us why we love what we do. We hope the visit planted a small seed for the future — perhaps some of these young visitors will one day return as designers, engineers, or marketing specialists, helping to shape the cities of tomorrow.
A wonderful day full of joy and excitement — one we will remember for a long time.
