Make That TV Look Good with JALG Minimalist TV Stands

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Have you ever looked at your television and thought; surely this doesn’t have to look so clunky? If you’re bored with having it attached to the wall or sitting atop a large, awkward table, you’re in luck: the JALG TV stand is the answer to a minimalist’s dream.

Based in Tallinn, Estonia, JALG built its design philosophy of a blend of Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetic traditions, with both elevated form and function in mind. Co-founded in 2016 by friends and business partners Veiko Kallas and Argo Männiste, JALG filled a gap in the market that industrial designer Argo pinpointed. Now, JALG has been sold to over 20,000 customers in 40 countries, with Germany, UK, USA, France, Japan, South Korea, and Denmark as their most popular markets.

Co-founder and creative director Veiko explains, “Argo came to me with an idea and some first drawings that was an early version of the minimalist TV stand. I liked this idea because it turned the TV into a design object, but was also functional.”

“There was no such thing on the market at the time. To start, we made 20 pieces and they sold out almost immediately. So we knew we had a good idea on our hands.”

With a background in furniture design, Veiko could instantly spot the quality of the TV stand, but it was his background in photography that allowed him to envision the design universe the strand would create.

Above: JALG founders Argo Männiste and Veiko Kallas

“Photography isn’t my job anymore, but it has permanently shifted the way I see things. I think when you come from a photography background, your visual sense gets very attuned. So I see how the stand should look in a room, and how we need to represent that to our customers,” Veiko says.

While the first run of JALG TV stands had sold out quickly, there were still improvements to be made. First, they had to get the packaging right. “It was important to us that not only is the packaging secure, but that the unboxing experience is a good one. It should be quick and easy. At the beginning, we were packaging every item by hand, which obviously wasn’t sustainable long term,” Veiko says.

In addition to updating the packaging, JALG had to find vendors that could produce top-quality parts at high volume. “We’ve been very lucky: we have a vendor who makes our wood pieces in southern Estonia, and another one just outside of Tallinn that makes our metal pieces. Once you find a good vendor, you keep them!” says Veiko.

The stand itself is deceptively simple, drawing on mid-century design (the Møgens Koch Safari Chair comes to mind). Though it looks thin and sleek, the stand is very secure, something that the JALG co-founders discovered in Japan.

“We were told that safety was a very important element for the Japanese market, due to earthquakes as well as the typical size of apartments, which is compact. Our Japanese partners let us know that the stands never fell in earthquakes; instead, they would walk a little bit!” Veiko recounts.

Despite the slim silhouette, the JALG TV stand can hold very large televisions, up to 77’’ with the XL frame. Additionally, it is possible to add a SONOS speaker bar underneath, ensuring that despite having extra pieces, your TV still looks minimalist and clean.

And what about those annoying cords (we can’t be the only ones who stress over them!)? JALG has found a way around that too: by using the beautiful AVOLT extension cord, which collects all the other cords, ensuring that only one can be seen. Finally! A place to put your TV that elevates your space and takes the mess out of electronics.

“I think the important thing to remember is that when you create a product for another object, they combine to become a new object. So that new expression has to meet the standards of good design!” says Veiko. “At JALG, we believe that beautiful objects bring positive energy to a space. Those are lessons we’ve learned from both Japanese and Scandinavian design, and we know that we’ve brought it to the TV stand too. We see this in how our customers use the piece, and how it chan instantly change a room to feel more minimalist, clean, and pulled-together.”

JALG takes an item that sometimes presents an aesthetic problem and gives it a solution; not by hiding it, but by bringing out its inherent beauty. Now that’s good design.