Graf Lantz: The brand making merino wool feel essential
There's a category of object that's hard to explain until you own one: something that does an ordinary job so well, in materials that feel so considered, that you start to wonder what you were using before. Graf Lantz makes a lot of those objects.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2008 by Holger Graf and Daniel Lantz, the brand draws on Holger's German heritage and Daniel's appreciation for a Japanese philosophy of less, but chosen. The result is a design house working in Merino wool, leather, alpaca, and hemp — natural materials handled with real craft, shaped into things that are useful first and beautiful as a consequence.
Here's an edit of the Graf Lantz pieces worth knowing, organized by where they live in your home.
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For the Home
Merino Wool Felt Bin
Price: From $68
Storage bins are one of those categories where the gap between bad and good is enormous. Most are either flimsy, ugly, or both. Graf Lantz's felt bins are neither — thick Merino wool felt holds its shape without a frame, the natural fiber breathes, and the muted colorways (warm greys, earthy neutrals, deep forest tones) sit comfortably on a shelf without demanding attention. Use them for throws, magazines, toys, or anything that needs a home that doesn't look like a storage solution.
Merino Wool Felt Tray
Price: From $38
A tray is one of the simplest ways to bring order to a surface — keys, remotes, candles, small objects that accumulate without a home. The Graf Lantz felt tray does this without adding visual weight: the wool felt is soft enough not to scratch surfaces beneath it, structured enough to hold its form, and refined enough to look like it was placed there deliberately. Available in several sizes; the medium works well on a coffee table or nightstand.
Merino Wool Throw
Price: From $195
Graf Lantz's throws are where the material really speaks. Merino wool is temperature-regulating, naturally odor-resistant, and softer than the word 'wool' tends to suggest — it doesn't scratch, doesn't pill the way lesser wool does, and gets better with use rather than worse. The colorways lean warm and earthy, which makes them easy to layer into a minimal room without competing with anything. This is the kind of textile you buy once and keep for a long time.
Tissue Box Cover
Price: From $42
The tissue box cover is a small thing that solves a specific aesthetic problem: tissue boxes are almost universally ugly, and they live in visible places. Graf Lantz's felt cover slips over a standard box and replaces the branding with a clean wool exterior in a color that actually belongs in your room. A minor upgrade with an outsized visual impact — exactly the kind of object todaysedit exists to surface.
For the Table
Merino Felt Placemats
Price: From $48 for a set
Placemats in Merino wool felt are one of those ideas that seem obvious once you've seen them. They protect the table without the stiffness of cork or the plastic feel of woven synthetics, they lie flat naturally, and they're easy to spot-clean. Graf Lantz offers them in individual pieces and curated sets — the latter worth considering if you want a coordinated tabletop without doing the color matching yourself. The colorways run from warm neutrals to bolder seasonal tones.
Trivets
Price: From $28
A trivet needs to do one thing: protect a surface from heat. Graf Lantz's felt trivets do that while also looking like something you'd leave out rather than hide in a drawer. The thick Merino wool is naturally heat-resistant; the round or rectangular forms sit cleanly on a counter or table. Small enough to be an easy first purchase if you're new to the brand.
Coasters
Price: From $28 for a set
Graf Lantz coasters are one of the brand's best entry points — low commitment, high daily impact. The Merino felt absorbs condensation without warping, the weight keeps them in place, and they stack neatly when not in use. Available in a range of colors and several set configurations. A good gift as well as a good purchase for yourself.
For the desk
Merino Felt Desk Pad
Price: From $78
A desk pad does the same job as a coaster or tray — gives everything on it a place and makes the whole surface feel considered. Graf Lantz's desk pads in Merino felt are among the most refined options in the category: no logo, no branding, just a clean felt surface in a muted color that makes your desk look like you thought about it. The material is easy to wipe down and holds up well to daily use. If you work from home, this is worth it.
Laptop Sleeve
Price: From $68
Graf Lantz makes laptop sleeves in Merino wool felt — which is a better material for this use case than it might sound. Wool is naturally cushioning, doesn't generate static, and wears beautifully over time rather than looking cheap and scuffed. The sleeves fit most standard laptop sizes, slip easily into a bag, and look good on a desk. One of the few laptop accessories that doesn't look like a tech accessory.
Why Graf Lantz Belongs in a Minimal Home
The thread connecting all of these pieces is material honesty. Graf Lantz doesn't use Merino wool because it's trendy — they use it because it's genuinely one of the best natural materials available for objects that live in the home: durable, temperature-regulating, naturally odor-resistant, and beautiful in a way that requires no embellishment.
The brand sits at an interesting intersection: too considered to be mass market, too practical to be purely decorative. That's exactly the register a minimal home needs — objects that earn their place by being genuinely useful and quietly beautiful.
Start with the coasters or a tray if you want a low-commitment introduction. The desk pad and throws are the pieces most likely to change how you feel about your space.
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