Japanese design is regarded for its ability to distill the elements to their essence, allowing shapes, forms, and materials to be experienced plainly. Within what’s plain is often catalyzing clarity, a spark for thought or movement beyond whatever seemingly simple source is beheld. These are core attributes shared by Japanese design brands Maruni and Koyori, both of which have joined Studio Como’s catalog.
Begun in 2019 and officially launched in 2022 with five different chair models, Koyori is named for the primary material used in mizuhiki, the Japanese ritual of gift-giving. A koyori is a twisted paper cord that not only keeps a gift wrapping secure, but also, according to the brand, “symbolizes an unbreakable connection, embodying the profound significance of human relationships and interconnectedness.”
Like their name, Koyori’s furnishings aim to evoke emotion through understated forms. Their tables, chairs, and ottomans are primarily composed of wood, and the brand works with renowned European designers like Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Michael Anastassiades, and GamFratesi to realize a product offering that is detail-driven yet minimalist, comfortable as well as durable, and sustainably derived.
Koyori’s Kawara and Miau armchairs are now available in Studio Como’s showrooms, both shown with upholstery by Danish textile-maker Kvadrat. The Kawara armchair is designed by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec and made from three separate molded plywood pieces. The curved armrests break from the chair’s otherwise rectilinear structure, softening the overall form to embrace the body. GamFratesi’s Miau armchair also exemplifies Koyori’s bentwood expertise. The chair’s arm and backrest are made from just one piece, a molding and construction achievement that allows the wood grain to run unbroken across the chair.
Preceding Koyori’s story by nearly 100 years, Maruni was founded by Takeo Yamanaka in Hiroshima in 1928. Over the company’s 96 years, Maruni has evolved from a small workshop to one of Japan’s most important furniture houses, known internationally for producing pieces by designers like Nendo, Cecilie Manz, and Sanaa. Still central to Maruni’s ethos is a reverence for heritage crafts, and an investment in how these techniques can be brought to scale for mass production.
Designed by Naoto Fukasawa and named for Maruni’s birthplace, the Hiroshima dining chair is available at Studio Como in beech or oak. Fukasawa’s approach to chair design, evident in the Hiroshima, is to accommodate what he calls the “dialogue between chair and person,” encompassing all the ways the body moves, repositions, and touches the furniture while sitting. “Such natural movements of human beings must be expressed in the shape of the chair,” he says.
These chairs—and all the pieces in both brand’s lines—exemplify Koyori and Maruni’s coherent use of traditional craft and contemporary manufacturing. Each has worked with British product designer and philosopher Jasper Morrison, whose pursuit of what he’s termed “super normal”—objects that are remarkable because of their stark everydayness—is reflected in existing Maruni and Koyori furniture, and informs their future work.
If the everyday is as captivating as the furnishings these designers create, let us live each moment fully present to what is simple, clear, and enduring. Shop Koyori and Maruni pieces online and view select products in Studio Como’s flagship Denver showroom.
