mikiya kobayashi launches japanese furniture brand TAIYOU&C.

TAIYOU&C.’s story begins before mikiya kobayashi started his own studio, by the time he was working as an interior architect in tokyo and saw a real need in the market for contract use of wooden furniture. in order to fill this gap, the designer has launched the brand aiming to create the ‘new ordinary’. its first collection has been designed by richard hutten, jin kuramoto and founder and creative director himself, mikiya kobayashi. this first set consists of three stackable chairs and one table, each available in walnut and oak.

TAIYOU&C. chairs collection (oak)
image © yosuke owashi

the &C stands for two worldwide renowned designers: the leader of droog design, dutch designer richard hutten and the japanese jin kuramoto. ‘for this collection, both designers came up with simple designs but maintained a real personality. their products call for lovableness and that was the kind of pieces I was looking for,’ comments mikiya kobayashi. ‘I believe the wooden natural warmth of this collection will offer great possibilities in the contract’s field,’ noted jin kuramoto.

TAIYOU&C. also includes two of the best japanese wood manufacturers: fuji furniture, based in tokushima, famous for its wood casting technique and takumi kohgei, who embodies handmade works in hokkaido. ‘we did surpass ourselves to overcome the difficult problem of perfectly assembling plywood moldings in order for these products to be market-ready. but that is why working on this collection was fantastic!’, said tohru fukawa, CEO of fuji furniture.

‘round’ chair by mikiya kobayashi (oak)
image © yosuke owashi

’round’ by mikiya kobayashi for TAIYOU&C. is a compact and light chair that can be stacked up to seven unities. its backrest is a round functional structure with a lower back support. the circular shape of the seat allows a number of sitting directions. ‘very simple and familiar yet different from what have been designed to this day. I designed it so it would not disturb the architectural vision around it,’ says its designer, mikiya kobayashi.

‘round’ chair by mikiya kobayashi (oak and blue fabric)
image © yosuke owashi

’round’ chair detail by mikita kobayashi
image © yosuke owashi

‘clover 4’ and ‘clover 3’ stools by richard hutten 
image © yosuke owashi

‘clover3’ and ‘clover4’ by richard hutten for TAIYOU&C. are stackable stools with a clover shaped seat part available in trefoil and four-leaf lover shape as well as in a lower version for children. a field of stools mixing both clovers invites us to a fun chase of happiness. ‘wood is still a very far out material so it’s nice to use it but I wanted to push the material to its limits. I wanted a stool that was lightweight and as uncluttered by unnecessary details as possible,’ explains richard hutten.

‘clover 4’ stool (walnut) and ‘clover 3’ stool (oak) detail
image © yosuke owashi

 
‘keystone’ chairs by jin kuramoto
image © yosuke owashi

‘keystone’ chair by jin kuramoto (walnut)
image © yosuke owashi

‘keystone’ by jin kuramoto for TAIYOU&C. has a round shaped seat and the four legs are surrounded by the arm part and the backrest of the chair. its name comes from its structure, centered on the seat. every part of the chair is fixed on a side of the seat which becomes the essential piece of the construction. ‘so if you lose this one specific link, the whole chair falls apart,’ comments the designer jin kuramoto. its strong personality does not prevent it from being stackable. 

‘keystone’ chair by jin kuramoto
image © yosuke owashi

‘horizon’ table by mikiya kobayashi and ‘round’ chair by mikiya kobayashi
image © yosuke owashi

‘horizon’ by mikiya kobayashi for TAIYOU&C. is a table whose design is all about lightness, reminiscent of a floating wooden board. a thin slit in the middle of the table is meant to be used for office devices electric wires. ‘I tried to design something that would not be overwhelming yet original, so I focused on the details,’ explains the designer mikiya kobayashi.

‘horizon’ table by mikiya kobayashi (oak)
image © yosuke owashi

‘horizon’ table by mikiya kobayashi (details)
image © yosuke owashi

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edited by: juliana neira | designboom