The Heller Swell Catchall: The Story Behind the Wave-Shaped Wall Organizer

The Heller Swell catchall is a wave-shaped wall organizer designed by Anna Dawson, a RISD graduate and surfer, and put into production by Heller — the New York design house making furniture since 1971. Molded in recyclable ABS plastic and protected by U.S. Design Patent No. D1,092,186 S, the $100 piece has collected design honors from Domino, Apartment Therapy, and Home Accents Today. It's exactly the kind of sculptural, hard-working, low-waste object Comosum exists to champion.

The Story Behind the Swell Catchall

Anna Dawson designed the Swell the way good small objects usually get designed: by needing one. A surfer who also cycles, she wanted somewhere by the door to hang a coat and drop the small things that otherwise vanish — keys, a wallet, surfboard wax, a spare bike tube. The answer was a run of open, undulating curves at the top that cradle a jacket or scarf, and cup-like slots at the bottom that hold everything else. The shape reads like a cross-section of a wave, which is where the name comes from.

Dawson first showed the prototype during NYCxDesign in 2022, at the WantedDesign showcase, where it caught the eye of Heller's John Edelman. Heller met with Dawson, then a recent RISD graduate, and moved the piece into production, introducing the finished Swell Wall Catchall at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) a year later. For a debut designer, that path — from student prototype to a produced piece under a fifty-year-old design label in barely a year — is unusually short, and it says as much about the clarity of the idea as it does about Heller's willingness to bet on new talent.

The design world noticed. Azure Magazine profiled Swell as a playful storage solution for small spaces, and it took a Domino Good Design nod for décor in 2023, an Apartment Therapy Small/Cool Design Award in 2024, and a Home Accents Today Editor's Pick in 2025 — three years of recognition for a single wall-mounted accessory. What earned it is the same thing that makes it useful: the form does one job, does it well, and looks like sculpture while doing it.

That trajectory fits Heller's own history. The company has spent decades producing and reissuing sculptural design in molded plastic — from Massimo and Lella Vignelli to Frank Gehry and Mario Bellini — and more recently reintroduced Bill Curry's 1970 Honeycomb shelving system. Swell is the newer, more affordable end of that lineage: a young designer's first mass-produced object, carried on the same reputation for form that Heller built over fifty years.

How the Swell and Heller's Accessories Are Built Sustainably

A wall catchall is a small object, but the material choices behind it are the whole point.

Materials

The Swell Wall Catchall is made from recyclable ABS plastic — a single, mono-material shell that can be recycled at end-of-life rather than sent to landfill. Mono-material construction matters more than it sounds: because the piece isn't a bonded mix of plastic, metal, and foam, there's nothing to separate before it can be recycled. Heller's broader accessories program leans harder into recycled content still: the Honeycomb Modular Shelving is molded from 100% recycled polypropylene under the company's Worry Free Plastics program, which Heller describes as regenerative at end-of-life. Choosing one honest material, and making it recyclable or recycled, is the quiet sustainability story most storage products skip — the kind of material transparency groups like the Sustainable Furnishings Council have long pushed the industry toward.

Manufacturing

The Swell's core colorways are made in the USA, keeping the supply chain for Heller's flagship pieces short. Injection molding also means the piece is made to exact tolerances with minimal offcut waste, and its five-pound body ships by parcel rather than freight — a smaller footprint than a comparable metal or MDF organizer.

Certifications and Recognition

Swell carries U.S. Design Patent No. D1,092,186 S, a marker of original design rather than a copied form. Its three industry awards — Domino (2023), Apartment Therapy (2024), and Home Accents Today (2025) — recognize the same thing Comosum looks for: a piece that solves a real problem with lasting design rather than disposable trend.

Why the Swell Belongs at Comosum

We carry the Swell because it does something we rarely see at its price: it makes a genuinely useful object worth looking at, without cutting corners on material. A $100 wall catchall in recyclable ABS is an easy first step into better-made, longer-lasting design — the accessible end of the same values that run through every one of our sustainable furniture brands.

It also anchors a room most furniture guides ignore. Swell is the centerpiece of our broader look at sustainable wall organizers, where a wave-shaped catchall, a modular shelf, and a coat rack turn an empty entryway wall into working storage. The nice thing about Heller is that you don't have to buy the wall all at once. Start with the $100 Swell, add a $150 Tavollini side table or a $375 Vignelli Cube as budget allows, and step up to an $875 Honeycomb configuration when you're ready — a price ladder that lets a room grow one considered, recyclable piece at a time instead of one disposable haul.

Explore Heller at Comosum

• Swell Wall Catchall — Anna Dawson's wave-shaped catchall in recyclable ABS, with a 75-pound weight capacity, at $100 across eight colors. The accessible entry point to the whole collection.
• Honeycomb Modular Shelving — Bill Curry's 1970 hexagonal system, reissued in 100% recycled polypropylene; cells stack horizontally or vertically up to three high, from $875.
• Vignelli Cube — Lella and Massimo Vignelli's 2005 multitasker, equally at home as a side table, stool, or accent, at $375.
• Gehry Left Twist Cube — Frank Gehry's 2004 sculptural cube that works as a stool or side table, at $375.
• Tavollini — Mario Bellini's 1998 compact side table, a $150 companion piece for small spaces.

Browse the full Heller collection at Comosum → and explore more wall-mounted shelving and storage accessories, or shop everything under $500.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Heller Swell Catchall

Who designed the Heller Swell Wall Catchall?

The Swell was designed by Anna Dawson, a Brooklyn-based designer, surfer, and RISD graduate. She showed the prototype at WantedDesign during NYCxDesign in 2022, and Heller put it into production, introducing the finished piece at ICFF the following year.

What is the Swell Wall Catchall made of?

The Swell is molded from recyclable ABS plastic in a single continuous form. Its undulating top curves act as hooks for coats and scarves, while the cup-like slots at the bottom hold keys, wallets, and other small items. It measures roughly 28.75 inches wide and holds up to 75 pounds.

Where is Heller furniture made?

Heller has designed and produced furniture in New York since 1971, and the Swell Wall Catchall's core colorways are made in the USA. The brand is known for producing and reissuing sculptural plastic design from figures including the Vignellis, Frank Gehry, and Mario Bellini.

Is Heller's Honeycomb shelving sustainable?

Yes. The Honeycomb Modular Shelving is molded from 100% recycled polypropylene under Heller's Worry Free Plastics program, which the company describes as regenerative at end-of-life. Its hexagonal cells also use less material than equivalent square cells, and the system assembles without power tools.

How do you hang a Swell catchall?

The Swell mounts to the wall through its molded body; many owners install it with screws, though some use heavy-duty adhesive hooks for a damage-free option in rentals. With a 75-pound capacity, it comfortably holds coats, bags, and everyday essentials in an entryway, mudroom, or small hallway.