Why Is This Interesting? The Chess Set Edition
On materials, culture, and obsession
A bonus WITI this week. Note: we didn’t take any money for this. Noah and I just love what our friends are doing. Grab them for a holiday gift.
Colin here. Two friends of WITI decided chess needed a design and materials reboot.
Elliott Walker and Tim Hucklesby from Otherward (a design shop we love and use) started playing chess online during lockdown and got fixated on the physical sets.
The gap they saw: You can buy a $40 club set that feels like Amazon basics, or you can spend $900 or more for heirlooms. The middle ground, something well-made and beautiful basically didn’t exist.
Their Stanton Series 01 pieces are thoughtful. They used precision-cast metal bases, ABS shells (the same unbreakable plastic as LEGO), and silicone cores for weight and that declarative thunk when you take a piece.
The mat lies flat, the bag uses YKK zippers, the cord locks and elastic bands are custom. Every detail is obsessive.
Why is this interesting?
Nymzo fits chess’s current cultural moment, the mix of Queen’s Gambit glamour, pandemic nostalgia, YouTube theory vids, and a shift toward analog rituals.
They priced it at $185. Most reviews mention the same things: the weight, the feel, and the consideration.
NYMZO.WORLD. WITI subscribers get 20% off their first purchase with code WITI20
This chess set is going to be very successful. It really fills a void in the marketplace.