Pencils have a way of spreading far beyond the desk, especially when you move between a sketchbook on the sofa and a project at the dining table. STUDIO SHOO’s TUFF Pencil Cabinet gives those wandering supplies a home that can follow you. Produced with manufacturer CANATE, the wheeled cabinet combines compact storage with colors and textures inspired by Armenia’s volcanic architecture.
The reference is tuff, the porous volcanic stone behind much of Yerevan’s pink-hued architecture. The studio also draws on the chalk drawings and inscriptions that appear on those walls, connecting the material to everyday creativity rather than treating it as a decorative finish. Reddish, speckled panels interrupt the cabinet’s smooth painted surfaces, bringing a little of that architectural character down to furniture scale.
Designer: Shushana Khachatrian
That doesn’t mean living with a miniature building beside your chair. A small rectangular box sits on four long, slender legs, leaving most of the space underneath open. Tiny casters continue the lines down to the floor without giving it the appearance of an office trolley. The pink and yellow finishes make the cabinet something you’d leave visible, rather than tuck beneath a desk.
The yellow version keeps things simple, with one compartment reached by lifting the lid. A small semicircular notch gives your fingers somewhere to start, avoiding a handle that sticks out from the box. Open it, and the supplies are accessible from above. Close it and the flat top can hold something else, although you’ll need to clear it before reaching inside again.
Of course, choosing pink changes more than the color. That version adds a pull-out drawer beneath the top-opening compartment, giving pencils and crayons a separate place to lie flat. You can reach that lower storage without disturbing whatever is sitting on the lid. It’s a useful distinction if the cabinet spends part of its time beside a chair holding a cup of coffee.
The wheels matter because the storage moves with the activity, instead of making every drawing session happen in the same place. Roll it from a worktable to a reading corner and the collection comes along together. That doesn’t make it a replacement for a large studio cabinet. Its appeal is keeping a smaller selection nearby, not accommodating every supply you’ve ever bought.
The construction combines MDF and metal, with reclaimed board reported in the project’s early coverage. That’s a more specific claim than calling the whole cabinet sustainable, especially without published information about material proportions or eventual disassembly. The visible contrast is easier to appreciate: smooth painted edges frame the rough-looking inserts, giving a straightforward storage box a little more character without complicating how it opens.
TUFF was exhibited during Milan Design Week in 2025, although current pricing and ordering details aren’t established. Its closed top gives it a second role between drawing sessions, but moving a drinks table requires a little more care than moving pencils. Roll it into place before pouring the coffee, unless your next artwork happens to need a rather convincing brown stain.
