Breakout piece: [Pete] "Probably the Rip + Tatter chair (above). I started working with cardboard in grad school, and for my thesis I did a couch and a chair that were adult sized. During prototyping, I did a kids' chair for a friend, as a test before I did a 7-foot-long couch. Then when I got out of grad school in 2009, it was tough. There was so little opportunity. But the kids' market was doing okay, and it got picked up by all these cool mom blogs. I think it was a mix of great photography and really good timing."