Our story
Can we make furniture which comes together without screws, fasteners or tools? The answer is yes without compromise.
Our furniture is practical, easy to reassemble and strong. It is durable and sustainable, being made of high-quality materials in Europe where ecological certification and ethical labour can be ascertained.
Without Screws began in 2013 when Jean-François C. Lemay, a Canadian architect then working for Sir Norman Foster’s office in London, drew tables made of parts which locked together.
“I realised it was possible to use the table top as a spring, where the legs could click into a locked position.”
After producing dozens of prototypes, he registered design patents and exhibited them in Milan at the 2019 Salone del Mobile, in the SaloneSatellite area for designers under 35. He drew crowds to his kiosk by continuously assembling a coffee table, standing on it and then taking it apart. The magazine Elle Decor Italia selected him as one of the top 7 young designers of the fair.
In the summer of 2019, Jean-François left Foster and Partners to found Jflemay Architecture and Design, an office in London developing Without Screws in parallel with architectural projects.
Our furniture is practical, easy to reassemble and strong. It is durable and sustainable, being made of high-quality materials in Europe where ecological certification and ethical labour can be ascertained.
Without Screws began in 2013 when Jean-François C. Lemay, a Canadian architect then working for Sir Norman Foster’s office in London, drew tables made of parts which locked together.
“I realised it was possible to use the table top as a spring, where the legs could click into a locked position.”
After producing dozens of prototypes, he registered design patents and exhibited them in Milan at the 2019 Salone del Mobile, in the SaloneSatellite area for designers under 35. He drew crowds to his kiosk by continuously assembling a coffee table, standing on it and then taking it apart. The magazine Elle Decor Italia selected him as one of the top 7 young designers of the fair.
In the summer of 2019, Jean-François left Foster and Partners to found Jflemay Architecture and Design, an office in London developing Without Screws in parallel with architectural projects.
Our milestones
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2013, Perspex coffee table
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2014, lamp designs
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2015, plywood coffee table
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2015, plywood shelving
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2015, chair
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2015, Corian coffee table
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2016, aluminium coffee table
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2019, exhibition at Salone
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2019, initial manufacturing
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2019, exhibition at Rinascente
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2021, manufacturing
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2022, products in stock
