Morten and Allan were inspired by their own children and the way they played. They understood that children’s furniture had to be completely different to adult’s furniture. It not only has to have different proportions, it also has to be lighter and more stable. The design should fit in with children’s imagination, rather than their parents’ tastes. The world of comic strips was an important source of inspiration, and the designers’ children were often consultants when MAMMUT was being developed.
MAMMUT was originally made in solid wood and particleboard with polystyrene legs. This made the furniture quite heavy, which made it difficult for children to handle. After a few years of further development, in 1999 the series started being made entirely out of UV-resistant plastic. This made the furniture lighter, and it could be used both indoors and out.
MAMMUT was launched across a whole spread in the 1994 IKEA catalogue. That same year, it was voted Furniture of the Year by Swedish interior design magazine Sköna Hem (Beautiful Homes).
The MAMMUT series was always under constant development and was regularly checked with meticulous safety tests. Decades after it was first produced, it cost less than it did when it was first launched.
