Chairs seem to be a pretty central part of our life right now, in a good way.

We just opened our Tokyo Outpost with an exhibition of furniture, from Keiji Ashizawas’s Ishinomaki stool, to a prototype of our own Fabrica seat, to Artek and Vitra classics. We’ve been appreciating good design through chairs since day 1 in Tokyo.
We also happened to open the Outpost right on top of DesignArt Tokyo, a moment where Japan’s love of craft has been on full display through all kinds of furniture focused designs, prototypes and collections. From fibre glass and cardboard prototypes to full hand carved wooden pieces, there’s a deep appreciation and understanding of what most people would just call “a chair” here that makes them works or art and discovery more so than just things to sit on.

Probably what catches our love is not only the end design, no matter how interesting, innovative or unique it is, but the process of getting there, because anyone who has ever designed anything, especially a chair, knows that it’s never a straight line.
That’s why the above Nowness feature caught our eye, because you’re getting the whole process. Not just the gallery at the end or the magazine features of the work, but the journey and the details behind the final thing. The time behind the design, the backstage to the main show.

The magic lives in the process and capturing it as important as the final result.

See the rest of the series here, focusing on a range of different crafting experiences.