We will probably never know whether the Freddy bookshelf is named after Frederik, the son of company owner Elmar Flötotto, or after the singer and record millionaire. What we do know, though, is that the idea hatched by design studio Hertel & Klarhoefer to create alternatives to the traditional bookshelf based on horizontal boards flanked by vertical sides was a successful one. The innovative Berlin architecture and design duo already patented their idea in the 1990s (executed for the first time in 1999 for Zeitraum). In the wake of systems such as FNP ( from Axel Kufus), Endless Shelf (Werner Aisslinger) and Plattenbau (Florian Petri for Kaether & Weise),  they made yet another flexible shelving solution available, which differs from the others in one important point. Instead of being stacked, the elements are interlocked like Lego bricks. The advantages include variability, theoretically unlimited height, the small size of the individual elements as well as the uniform thickness of their walls, which gives the whole a consistent optical homogeneity. Freddy (designed for elmarflötotto) is sold in packages. If a customer wants to add on to his bookshelf, he simply purchases another package. “People often only understand the principle once they have assembled their shelf”, explains Sebastian Klarhoefer.