Is the world ready for Focal Upright seating? Martin Keen thinks so. The famed industrial designer and founder of Keen Footwear has moved on to a great new venture that’s bound to change the way many of us sit… provided we all rethink out current seating arrangements on a few key fronts. Keen’s Focal Upright Locus Desk, Seat and other accessories offer a comfortable, ergonomic and far better work solution that I can safely say after trying one out, NEEDS to be implemented in as many offices (home and otherwise) as possible. And the new portable MOGO Travel Seat makes for a revolutionary portable solution that’s also quite the conversation piece in the rright company.

I’ve been trying out a MOGO for a few weeks on and off and it’s certainly been an interesting and educational experience. Alternating between two weeks of using the seat as much as possible and a week or so of sitting on assorted normal furniture reveals that the MOGO makes for a much more comfortable, yet energizing seating solution. It’s definitely weird at first and yes, takes some getting used to, especially if you’re one of those people who prefer passive seating at the office or at home. However, once you spend a few days using it and start taking it along with you (it quickly comes apart into two pieces that fir together and go into a red carry bag), expect to get plenty of queries and comments from all over.

A few fun and oddball things I’ve found out in my test phase are most New Yorkers tend to not say much when they see a Mogo. Other than a few heads popping up to peek at me from a latte/newspaper/device/phone before popping back down, No one approached me to ask about the seat. I did get a few comments from a barista at a coffee shop where the counter was the perfect height to sit and whip out my laptop to post a few articles. He thought I was assembling a unicycle when I put the MOGO together, but once he saw it wasn’t wheeled, he just nodded and grinned before telling me of his error. A stop a few bars was good for a free drink and a few bartenders testing the chair out and finding it “cool” or “strange but cool” and a few variations thereof.

Of course, thanks to its wider footprint once in use, the big city isn’t quite ready for this simple-looking modern classic seat in places such as theaters (movie and otherwise), some restaurants and public transportation. There’s also the weight limit of 200 pounds and seat height maxing out at 36 inches, which means larger and very tall people will have to hold out hope for some sort of custom MOGO sizing if this takes off as it should. Granted, the price points of the Mogo and Locus line make them premium items geared towards those who want something that’s going to last as well as fit their healthier lifestyles.

I say if you can swing it, spring for a MOGO ($100 either online or through one of its retail partners in the US and Canada) and take it for a spin. your back and butt will forgive you for the abuse you’re currently putting them through and who knows? You may just get a few friends up off their behinds and shifting forward into the future of seating. That, and I foresee a Locus in your future if you’re room for it in your home or office (or home office)…