The KULING seating series combined red-lacquered tubing in soft shapes with sand-coloured cotton upholstery. The furniture targeted younger consumers, and was designed by Tomas Jelinek.
Tomas fled Czechoslovakia for Sweden during the Prague Spring of 1968, and was initially employed at the catalogue department. He had a solid education and experience as a designer, and became a full-time IKEA designer. He is behind some of the biggest sales successes of all time at IKEA. Having said that, KULING was an exception. With its sand-coloured cushions and bright red steel-tube frame, KULING should have been ideal for the trends of the time, but it vanished after just two years in the IKEA catalogue.
