Community Highlights: Meet Beth Goldman of BAM Bags™ dba PicChair

Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Goldman.

Hi Beth, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a licensed architect, and my foundation in architecture has shaped the way I approach all design—whether at the scale of a building or a single piece of furniture. Early in my career, I worked on resort and residential architecture, designing spaces where aesthetics, function, and the experience of everyday use are equally critical. That work sharpened my sensitivity to how people move through space and how thoughtful design can improve daily life.

Alongside architectural practice, I became increasingly interested in product and furniture design as a way to solve problems at a more intimate scale. Over the years, I developed and launched design products through trade shows and design fairs, gaining hands-on experience in bringing ideas from concept to market and learning directly from how people respond to well-designed objects.

PicChair® emerged from this combined background in architecture and product design, and from a simple, recurring problem I observed in residential and hospitality settings: the need for extra seating without the visual clutter or storage burden of traditional folding chairs. I set out to design a chair that could live comfortably on the wall as art, then unfold into a functional, comfortable seat when needed. After years of refinement, PicChair® was granted a U.S. patent.

Today, I am focused on introducing PicChair® to the market through strategic partnerships and direct-to-consumer channels. My path reflects a blend of architectural training, real-world design experience, and an ongoing willingness to learn new disciplines—particularly in business, communications, and manufacturing. PicChair® represents the convergence of my architectural roots and my passion for creating practical, beautifully designed solutions for modern living.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The path has not been smooth, though I’ve come to see that as an essential part of the process. Every obstacle forced me to work harder, think differently, and approach the problem from a new angle. Those challenges ultimately strengthened both the product and my commitment to it.

While I had spent years developing and refining the idea for PicChair®, the timing was not initially right. Interestingly, it was the success of another product that prompted me to reassess the potential of my original invention. In hindsight, the delay in bringing PicChair® to market feels intentional. The broader market has since shifted. Multifunctional furniture is now widely embraced as both eco-friendly and practical, especially as housing costs rise and living spaces become smaller.

One of the greatest challenges was building the first full-scale prototype. Because PicChair® exists at the intersection of furniture and art, many makers struggled to understand it. Woodworkers often wanted to redesign it or viewed it solely as a chair or a picture frame, rather than both. To move forward, I enrolled in a woodworking class so I could better understand the craft and begin prototyping myself. I ultimately built a full-size, functioning version using layered cardboard, which allowed me to test proportions, structure, and usability before moving into wood fabrication.

From there, I partnered with a skilled wood craftsman and went through multiple iterations before arriving at the final, working version of PicChair®. Each challenge reinforced the importance of persistence and clarity of vision. The result is a patented design that reflects years of problem-solving, iteration, and belief in an idea that was simply ahead of its time.

We’ve been impressed with BAM Bags™ dba PicChair, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a licensed architect and founder of BAM Architecture & Designs, with a career rooted in residential and resort architecture. My early work designing homes and resorts—particularly in the Caribbean—gave me hands-on experience not only with construction, but also with interior design and how people truly live in and use space. Design has always been both technical and creative for me, shaped by growing up in a family of builders and artists.

Over time, my interest expanded from buildings to products—specifically objects that solve everyday problems through thoughtful, multifunctional design. While living in a very small New York City apartment during graduate school at Columbia University, I became acutely aware of how poorly most furniture responds to limited space. That experience planted the seed for PicChair®.

After founding my own architectural practice, I also built and licensed a patented accessories brand BAM Bags & the Original Zippurse, gaining real-world experience in product development, manufacturing, IP protection, and licensing. Those experiences ultimately prepared me to return to my original idea and bring PicChair® to life.

Today, PicChair® is a patented, architect-designed chair that hangs on the wall as art, created for modern living where space, sustainability, and design matter. It is currently produced in sustainably sourced Colombian Roble (white oak) and crafted to be both functional and beautiful—furniture that doesn’t need to be hidden when not in use.

What sets my work apart is the intersection of architecture, product design, and lived experience. I design for real people, real constraints, and real environments. Brand-wise, I am most proud of creating original, patented designs that are practical, enduring, and ahead of their time. My goal is to make multifunctional, eco-conscious furniture more accessible—replacing clutter with objects that earn their place in our homes.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck, both good and bad,has played a meaningful role in my life and business. Some of my most important ventures began with moments that felt almost accidental. If my mother and I hadn’t jokingly challenged each other to design a handbag made entirely of zippers, I might never have created the Zippurse®. That single idea set off a chain of events I could never have planned.

Early exposure in a magazine that later appeared in airline publications, followed by landing my first major account with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, felt like incredible good fortune. Ironically, being copied by a larger company—while initially very upsetting—became a turning point that ultimately led to a licensing deal and placed my work on a global stage. What first felt like bad luck became an opportunity because I chose to protect the idea and move forward.

The same pattern appears with PicChair®. Had I not moved to New York and lived in an extremely small apartment, I might never have experienced firsthand the frustration of storing extra furniture in limited space. That inconvenience became the spark for a much larger idea.

Looking back, I don’t know if it’s simply luck, or a series of good and bad decisions that created opportunities. What I do know is that luck only matters if you act on it. The defining moments in my career came from recognizing those moments—whether positive or challenging—and taking the risk to turn them into something meaningful.

Pricing:

• • $545 per PicChair
• • Posters for PiChairs – $50- $75

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thepicchair.com
• Instagram: @PicChair
• Facebook: facebook.com/ThePicChair
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/picchair

Image Credits
Images taken by Aydan J. Metsch