maruni celebrates 90 years with wooden chairs by naoto fukasawa and jasper morrison

maruni launches their 2018 collection at this year’s salone del mobile consisting of two wooden chairs by designers naoto fukasawa and jasper morrison. the ‘comfortable chairs’, as described by the japanese furniture brand, are two in a series of new and limited edition pieces celebrating its 90th anniversary.

all images courtesy of maruni

naoto fukasawa, who is also the art director for maruni, debuts an armchair made from a single swath of thin laminated plywood. named ’roundish’, the chair is made by bending the wood in three dimensions creating a fluid shape that enwraps its user.

meanwhile, jasper morrison has created ‘fugu’, a chair made from pieces of gently curved solid oak. morrison who has worked with maruni since 2011 says his intention was to make a wooden chair that was so comfortable it wouldn’t need upholstery. fugu is available both with arms and without.

the chairs debut alongside special edition versions of existing chairs including fukasawa’s hiroshima chair, which originally launched in 2008. the limited edition features a plain beech frame and upholstery made of deep blue-green velvet material originally developed following a trip to the fabric production region in the wakayama prefecture in the 1960s, a material still used to upholster many of maruni’s chairs today. the armchair will also be launched in a new grey finish.

90 limited editions of jasper morrison’s T&O chair, first introduced in 2016, will also be produced. unlike the original design the chair will be made from ash instead of maple, with the s-shaped strip that connects the seat and back, in silver lacquer instead of steel. a T&O bar stool and table will also be available.

maruni’s collection is on show at salone del mobile during milan design week from 17-22 april 2018.

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