You must by now all know how much I love Scandinavian and Nordic design (I would hope that if you’re reading this blog regularly, you’ll be as big a fan as I am!). Well today I want to talk about another region of the world that shares a great many similarities when it comes to simple, understated interiors and fine, well-crafted furniture – Japan.
The first thing that springs to mind when I think of Japanese design is a feeling of zen; a sense of ease and tranquility, translated into spaces that feel restorative to be in and designs that are quietly beautiful. I can’t profess to know everything or even much about Japanese design, but for me it’s all about the senses – embracing the imperfect grain on a piece of wood, cherishing the way the light falls through a window, or just living with only what you need. Sometimes just looking at an image of a beautifully ordered Japanese home is enough to bring about that sensation of calm. I guess it’s not too similar to the relaxed, cosy feel of a Scandinavian home – they always seem to get the balance right between pared-back minimalism and warmth. Perhaps it’s because both regions share a mindful approach to everyday living.
Beyond the feeling of an interior, the two design worlds share a design philosophy centred around craftsmanship and a close connection to nature. Both regions share a respect for their heritage and the craft techniques of the past, while bringing those stories into the present with new collaborations and technologies. The Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetic is about refinement – reducing things down to only what is necessary and always prioritising quality over quantity.
‘What sets Danish and Japanese design apart from other design traditions is our uncompromising focus on designing places, spaces and things that last,’ says Norm Architects
Both at Milan Design Week and 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, Japanese design brands shone brightly. Here, I’ve rounded up 5 design names and new collaborations to know about. There’s plenty of Scandinavian brands already taking inspiration from Japanese design for their products, but I wanted to focus on Japanese brands you might not have heard of and collections where the two regions have teamed up together to wonderful results.
1. Karimoku Case Study
Conceived by Japan’s largest wooden furniture manufacturer, Karimoku, this new contemporary lifestyle brand launched at 3 Days of Design in the elegant surroundings of the Kinfolk Gallery. Based in Japan, Karimoku Case Study is ‘born out of admiration and love for serene beauty, material richness and timeless appeal’.
Karimoku Case Study work with world-renowned architects to create a series of Case Study collections, each connected to a particular setting in Japan. The first is the Kinuta Collection by Norm Architects and Keiji Ashizawa Design, comprised of 12 considered furniture pieces. They take their name from two apartments in the Kinuta ward of the Setagaya district in Tokyo that Keiji Ashizawa Design has renovated. The designs take inspiration from the architecture and the courtyard that connects residents to the outside nature.
Inspired by the temples, shrines and gardens of Japan, the exhibition itself at Kinfolk was designed as a ‘tactile sanctuary’ with natural materials and earthy tones that allowed the furniture to quietly sing. You didn’t need any theatrics, it was all about the materials and textures.
Images: Photography: Monica Grue Steffensen, styling: Linnea Ek Blaehr, courtesy Karimoku Case Study
2. The Table Project by All the way to Paris, 1616/Arita and Skagerak
Also as a meeting of Scandinavian and Japanese values at 3 Days of Design, Danish brand Skagerak unveiled The Table Project with Japanese porcelain brand 1616/Arita, Japanese designer Teruhiro Yanagihara and Nordic design studio All the way to Paris.
The collection comprises over 100 tableware pieces designed by Yanagihara and hand-painted by All the way to Paris. Digging into the archives, the designers took inspiration from Arita’s 400-year-old heritage to create a series of delicate motifs and illustrations. Some are shaped by the negative space left by a stencil of the female form. They come in Japanese colours of blue, red and brown.
While I was at Skagerak’s Copenhagen showroom, I fell in love with their new lighting range. With a mouth-blown opal glass shade and round, black handle, the charming design references traditional Japanese lanterns.
Images courtesy Skagerak, last image: Cate St Hill
3. Artek – FIN/JPN Friendship Collection
For Milan Design Week, Finnish brand Artek celebrated the 100 year anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and Japan by commissioning designers, architects and craftsmen to explore the shared values between the two cultures. Some took inspiration from Japanese rituals, while others reinterpreted classic Alvar Aalto designs.
‘Despite their geographical separation the countries share a deep kinship; both pursue the essence of a simple life, possess an affinity with nature, a love of silence, a reduced visual language and a respect for craftsmanship,’ says Artek.
Designer Jo Nagasaka, for instance, used an age-old Japanese practice of brushing wood and removing layers of lacquer to create a colourful grain on Aalto’s tea trolley, bench and stool. Indigo specialise BUAISOU also played with Aalto’s stool, dipping it in an indigo bath to create a rich blue surface (available in Japan only). Finnish-Korean duo COMPANY has created a set of six characterful ceramics that the Finnish delegation might have brought to Japan. Koichi Futatsumata’s bench takes inspiration from the public baths that are deeply embedded in the cultural rituals of both Finland and Japan (available worldwide from September 2019). Find out more about the collection here.
Images courtesy of Artek
4. Maruni
Established in 1928, Maruni is a Japanese wooden furniture manufacturer with the motto of ‘Industrialised Craftsmanship’. They seek to balance artisanal wood techniques with high-tech machinery to create simple wooden furniture that highlights the natural beauty of the wood and the sophisticated skills of their artisans.
Maruni’s name was put on the map when in 2008 they launched a collection with designer Naoto Fukasawa, and then in 2011 with British designer Jasper Morrison. The aesthetic is very clean, refined and minimalist.
At Milan, I like that Maruni didn’t have lots of new designs, but refinements to existing pieces. Maruni presented an upholstered version of the Roundish Armchair by Naoto Fukasawa. This curved, comfortable design is made of a single piece of laminated plywood that has been twisted and bent in three dimensions. The Hiroshima sofa, also by Fukasawa, now has a chaise section, while Jasper Morrison’s solid wood Fugu chair comes as a dining chair as well as a lounge chair.
Images by Yaneo Kawabe, courtesy of Maruni
5. Karimoku New Standard
A highlight of Milan Design Week for me was not the flashy shows and installations but a hidden-away home and secluded garden in the Brera district conceived by Japanese brand Karimoku New Standard (KNS). Serving drinks and nibbles prepared by Japanese chef Shiori Goto, it was the perfect spot and green oasis to escape the madness of the design week and relax a while.
2019 marks Karimoku New Standard’s 10 year anniversary. Like Karimoku Case Study, it’s also owned by Karimoku, hence the name. KNS collaborates with international design names to create innovative, joyful and functional furniture for contemporary urban living. All of its products are made of sustainably sourced Japanese hardwoods.
At Milan, KNS unveiled a number of new products, including the stackable Polar chair by Tokyo-based Swiss designer Moritz Schlatter, and a curved shell chair made from reinforced foam and Japanese oak by Scholten & Baijings. My favourite designs are the Caster Low Chair by BIG-GAME in dark green (fourth image) and the faceted, round Colour Wood Dining Table by Scholten & Baijings (you can see the coffee table version below).
Images: courtesy Karimoku New Standard, except first, second, third, sixth and ninth of the KNS Home & Garden: Cate St Hill
