Some designs begin with a sketch. Others begin with a story. The Here and There Collection began with a backyard wedding, a heritage design, and a pair of designers coming together to create a collaboration between Loll Designs and Argenta Park. All resulting in a refined family of outdoor pieces inspired by an American classic and reimagined for modern life.
A Story Rooted in Craft, Connection, and a Backyard Wedding
Twelve years ago, Argenta Park designer, Ricky Biddle was preparing for his backyard wedding. With most of the budget devoted to home updates, and his background in design, rental furniture didn’t feel right. So, he decided to build his own seating for his wedding ceremony and reception.
A friend suggested the Leopold bench. A simple, functional design created by the founder of ecology, Aldo Leopold. Ricky didn’t recognize the name at first, but once he looked it up, he realized he’d seen Leopold benches everywhere.
What followed was a “benchelor party”: Ricky and his designer friends gathered to build benches for the wedding ceremony and reception. Those benches stayed with Ricky and his wife, Natalie, for the next decade, becoming part of their home and daily life. After a decade of use, Ricky was drawn back into the simplicity of the design and began to wonder how he could improve upon it with the desire to redesign the bench for more comfort, more refinement, and better longevity. This spark took his personal passion project and created the beginnings of a partnership between Argenta Park and Loll Designs to create the Here and There Collection.
Created With Argenta Park
Based in Michigan, Argenta Park is an industrial and interaction design studio that has worked in a variety of spaces ranging from furniture, consumer goods, healthcare, and transportation. As a designer at Argenta Park, Ricky brought his design for a modern take on the Leopold Bench to Churu Yun, the founder of Argenta Park. The best part? Ricky already had an idea of the perfect partner to bring this design to life, Loll Designs.
Together, Ricky and Churu sketched, modeled, 3D printed, and prototyped. They studied the ergonomics of sitting, the way people gather, and the nuances of comfort. They revisited Loll’s design language, including Loll’s emphasis on hidden fasteners and integrated this key feature from the earliest phases.
They also evaluated Loll’s existing offerings to ensure this wasn’t just a new product, but a meaningful evolution. The result was a collection that honored the Leopold bench while becoming its own family of pieces crafted with modern outdoor living in mind.
Inspired by the Leopold Bench and the Legacy of Aldo Leopold
The Here and There Collection is deeply rooted in the legacy of Aldo Leopold, the pioneering conservationist, philosopher, educator, and writer widely regarded as the father of wildlife ecology and modern conservation. Leopold believed in a simple but revolutionary idea he called the land ethic, the belief that humans should have an ethical, caring relationship with the natural world. His work continues to shape conservation science and environmental ethics today.
One of Leopold’s most enduring contributions is surprisingly humble: the Leopold bench. Originally built as a simple, functional seat for observing nature, the bench embodied his philosophy. It was crafted to create a place to slow down, pay attention, and appreciate the wild things around us. It’s this spirit of simplicity, purpose, and connection to the outdoors that inspired the Here and There Collection.
Argenta Park and Loll Designs worked together to create a collection that would allow people the to appreciate the natural world that surrounds us. In reimagining the bench for modern outdoor living, the Here and There Collection includes a bench that we believe would make Aldo himself proud, but the collections goes beyond this modern bench with three dining table options and a dining chair to allow folks to gather in nature in a new way, elevating the classic design with:
- Ergonomic contours for long, comfortable sits
- Clean, refined joinery
- Hidden fasteners that Loll is known for
- Durable HDPE and aluminum materials
- A modern profile that honors the original while standing confidently in contemporary spaces
Why “Here and There”?
The name of the collection pays homage to Leopold’s book, A Sand County Almanac, and sketches Here and There. The phrase captures Leopold’s belief that our relationship with nature exists both in the places we inhabit every day (“here”) and in the broader landscapes we move through (“there”).
It’s a fitting name for a collection designed to bring people together in the everyday spaces where we gather and to encourage the same appreciation for the outdoors that Leopold championed. By naming our collection Here and There we are able to pay a nod to Leopold and the influence his work had in creating this collection.
Designed to Be a Family of Modern Outdoor Essentials
What began as a single bench has grown into a complete outdoor collection. The Here and There Collection includes, three dining tables, a dining chair, and a bench.
Here and There Dining Tables
The smallest table is a perfect fit for two adults and the largest table comfortably seating up to eight adults. Available in four complimentary colors, each Here and There Table is crafted with durable HDPE along with a powder-coated color matched stainless steel frame and aluminum extruded legs that match the styling of the Here and There Bench and Chair for a seamless collection story.
Here and There Dining Chair
The Here and There Dining Chair has a gentle curve in is seat and backrest that offers a comfortable seat for dining or extended lounging.
Here and There Bench
If you are looking for a more versatile piece, the Here and There Bench goes way beyond dining. This bench comfortably fits two adults and can be placed in a variety of spaces, from around the fire, your front entryway, or even back to its founding roots as a seat at a backyard wedding.
If you do decide that dining is its place to be, it fits perfectly with our Here and There Dining Table 62.
Each piece reflects the same thoughtful engineering, material integrity, and timeless simplicity that defined the original inspiration, reimagined for contemporary outdoor living and how people gather today.
This collection represents more than a design collaboration, it’s a celebration of thoughtful craft, enduring materials, and the simple joy of being outdoors. Every contour, connection, and material choice reflects a decade of lived experience, a deep respect for Aldo Leopold’s legacy, and a shared belief in creating furniture that feels as good to use as it does to look at.
Whether gathered around one of the dining tables, settling into the chair for a long conversation, or appreciating the outdoors on the bench, the Here and There Collection invites you to slow down, take notice, and enjoy the spaces that ground you. The Here and There Collection is modern outdoor furniture designed for real life, built to last, built to connect, and built to be enjoyed here, there, and anywhere you find yourself outside.
