Chapter Three
Asking Better Questions
As the idea began to take shape, I realized the challenge wasn't simply designing another outdoor seat. The real question was how to create something that worked with nature instead of fighting against it.
Each new sketch led to another question. How could the seat remain stable on uneven ground? How could the filling stay where it was needed without constantly shifting? Could it be light enough to carry comfortably, yet strong enough to provide lasting support? Would it be possible to transport it empty and fill it on-site using natural materials? And if the concept worked well for gardening, could it also help campers, anglers, hunters, hikers, photographers, stargazers, and others who spend time outdoors?
Those questions gradually transformed Toadstool from a simple idea into a much broader design challenge. Every refinement led to another opportunity to improve the concept, shaping the components that would eventually follow.
Chapter Four
Desiging the Solution
As the questions became clearer, so did the direction of the design. Rather than trying to improve a traditional outdoor chair, I began rethinking the problem from the ground up. Instead of asking people to find a flat place to sit, what if the seat itself could adapt to the terrain?
That shift in thinking led to a series of new ideas. The simple concept gradually evolved into a terrain-conforming outdoor seating system featuring an internal support platform for stability, segmented internal chambers to help keep the fill evenly distributed, an optional removable seat pad that doubles as a comfortable kneeling pad, and a lightweight design that can be transported empty and filled on-site when needed.
Each refinement was driven by the same goal: creating a portable seat that helps make working and relaxing outdoors more comfortable, regardless of whether the ground is rocky, muddy, snowy, sandy, or uneven.
The illustrations on this page highlight some of the concepts that emerged as Toadstool continued to evolve from a simple sketch into a more complete outdoor seating system.
Some inventions begin in a laboratory.
Others begin with everyday frustration.
Growing up in Idaho in the 1970s, some of my favorite memories were spending time outdoors with my family—snowmobiling, camping, and cooking over a fire in the snow.
Looking back at these photos (I'm the smallest boy in all of them), I notice something I never thought about as a kid: whenever we stopped, we simply sat on whatever the landscape offered. We didn't think much about where we sat. We simply made do to whatever nature provided.
Years later, after living with chronic back problems stemming from spondylolisthesis and later spinal fusion surgery, I began wondering why our outdoor seating couldn't do the same.
Traditional stools and chairs expected the ground to be flat.
Nature rarely is.
That simple observation became the starting point for Toadstool: a portable outdoor seat designed to adapt to uneven terrain instead of forcing people to adapt to it.
What began as a personal solution gradually evolved into a product designed for gardeners, campers, anglers, hunters, hikers, photographers, and anyone who spends time outdoors where level ground is hard to find.
People have spent centuries adapting themselves to the terrain.
Could there be a better way to sit comfortably outdoors, no matter what the ground looked like?
Chapter Two
A Better Place to Sit—Decades in the Making
Fishing often meant balancing on uneven rocks that were sturdy—but never comfortable.
Winter snowmobiling adventures simply meant sitting or kneeling in the snow around the fire.
Even taking a break often meant sitting directly on the ground or, if you were lucky, a log.
Camping always meant spending hours outdoors. Places to sit were usually whatever happened to be nearby—or nothing at all.
Sometimes the best fishing spots were also the most uncomfortable places to spend an afternoon.
Snow became another reminder that outdoor seating usually meant adapting to the terrain instead of the other way around.
An early 2018 Toadstool™ concept diagram illustrating the original all-terrain outdoor chair design and its removable seating and kneeling platform concept.
The original 2018 Toadstool™ product information sheet introduced the early concept for a portable, all-terrain gardening chair and outdoor kneeling pad designed for stable seating on uneven, rocky, sloped, wet, and muddy terrain.
Long before Toadstool existed, the need did.
Chapter One
Toadstool™ didn't begin in a design studio or around a conference table.
It grew from a lifetime spent outdoors—camping, fishing, working in the yard, and sitting wherever the landscape happened to offer a place. On rocks. On fallen trees. In the snow. On uneven ground.
For me, those inconveniences became more than uncomfortable. A lifelong spinal condition and subsequent surgery made outdoor work and low, awkward seating increasingly difficult. I wanted something simple: a portable place to sit that didn't require nature to be flat.
In 2018, that need became an idea.
Today, Toadstool is evolving into a terrain-conforming outdoor seating concept designed around a simple question:
Why should the chair require the ground to cooperate?
This is the story of how Toadstool grew from a personal need into an idea for a new kind of outdoor seating.
2018
The Toadstool Idea
The first Toadstool concept combined a portable gardening chair with a removable kneeling pad and a fillable base designed with rocky, sloped, wet, and muddy terrain in mind.
2018
Asking Better Questions
The idea soon became about more than building another gardening stool. The real question emerged: Could outdoor seating adapt to the terrain beneath it?
2026
Returning To Toadstool
Years later, I returned to the original idea with new tools and a fresh perspective. The problem hadn't changed—but the possibilities for solving it had.
2026
More Than Gardening
Fishing banks. Campsites. Hunting overlooks. Hiking trails. Beaches. The common thread wasn't the activity—it was the terrain.
Today
Help The Toadstool Grow
Toadstool remains in development. Feedback from gardeners and outdoor enthusiasts can help shape its size, features, applications, and future direction.
The Evolution
1970s
A Lifetime Outoors
Camping, fishing, snowmobiling, and family adventures often meant sitting wherever nature allowed—on rocks, logs, snow, or uneven ground. Years before Toadstool™, the problem was already there.
Years Later
A Personal Need
A lifelong spinal condition and back surgery made yard work and awkward outdoor seating increasingly difficult. I wanted something simple: a portable place to sit that didn't require nature to be flat.
Where Toadstool Goes From Here
Toadstool™ is still growing.
The next phase is about turning a promising outdoor seating concept into a practical product—refining the terrain-conforming base, exploring materials and internal structure, evaluating size and portability, and learning which features matter most to the people who may one day use it.
The goal remains the same as it was from the beginning: create a simple, portable place to sit when nature isn't flat.
Refine the Design
Continue developing the terrain-conforming base, internal structure, seating platform, and removable kneeling pad.
Explore Materials
Evaluate durable, weather-resistant materials and practical fill options for real outdoor use.
Test the Terrain
Explore how the concept performs across rocky, sloped, soft, muddy, sandy, and other uneven surfaces.
Listen to Future Users
Gather feedback from gardeners and outdoor enthusiasts to help shape features, sizes, and potential applications.