EDITION 01 ARMCHAIR/SIDE CHAIR by Teruhiro Yanagihara Studio

“EDITION 01” are original wooden chairs designed by Teruhiro Yanagihara, who leads the Teruhiro Yanagihara Studio. There are two types of chairs: an armchair with a wider seat and a simple armless chair. Both chairs were designed for the ‘Hermès After Sales (Spatial design: Teruhiro Yanagihara Studio),’ built in Japan in 2021.

In designing the space, they proposed a design based on the historical background of Japan that blends with European aesthetics. Then, Yanagihara thought that the chairs, which are an essential touch point when serving customers, should be original and in line with the shop concept.

When we asked Yanagihara about his initial ideas for the chair, he replied, “The shop, offering repair and care services, had the role of creating a connection between the craftsmen and the customer and communicating the craftsmanship that Hermès is proud of. So, we wanted to interpret their craftsmanship and bring it into the interior setting. We understand that the Hermès brand makes products using the finest materials and enhancing their value through craftsmanship. Therefore, in developing the furniture, instead of just making a comfortable chair, we searched for a shape that enables users to feel the material’s existence and makes the material itself look beautiful.” When asked about the choice of leather material, he answered, ‘I am sure any designer could create something good using the Hermès premium quality leather. But this was a domestic project, and we, as a local Japanese design studio, had the opportunity to design it. Then, considering the Japanese identity, we decided it would be best to make beautiful chairs from Japanese timber”.

Yanagihara explained what he emphasised in the chair design: “Customers always recognise a chair from behind, so we aimed to create a chair with a beautiful back view. Compared with the kimono style, the back of the armchair would be the back collar, regarded as visually significant. The backrest is generally shaped to extend above the arms to improve seating comfort. However, for aesthetic reasons, we have made a straight line from arm to back and then widened the backrest downwards to ensure seating comfort.” The three solid wood parts - the unique back, the tilted legs and the seat - connect at different angles, making the production process extremely challenging even for experienced woodworkers. ‘When we first proposed the idea, the craftsman told us this shape might be impossible. However, we were able to achieve this chair with traditional joinery techniques and detailed handwork by highly skilled craftsmen, which is impossible with machine processing,’ recalled Yanagihara.

The armless ‘SIDE CHAIR’ made of Japanese zelkova wood from Hiroshima Prefecture. For the joint covering between the back leg and the seat, the designer Yanagihara applied copper parts instead of wooden plug.

The details of these simple chairs without stretchers left a distinct impression on us, with their sharp edges and not-too-thin members. As for the surface finish, "Structurally, we could make it thinner. However, the wood has different faces, such as bark side, heart side and end grain, so to make the most of these characteristics and to show the unique textures, we decided on a straight, massive shape. Also, generally, when you chase comfort in a wooden chair, you end up with a curved design, but we opted for a Japanese traditional planed finish rather than sanded to showcase the quality of the material", he added

All the chairs delivered to the Hermès shop were made from zelkova wood from Hiroshima Prefecture. The seat was made from a single piece of luxurious, quarter-sawn zelkova wood. Yanagihara focused so much on the materials because he wanted to apply the Hermès philosophy - treating the best leather materials with meticulous care - to this chair. Besides, he said, If we commissioned a furniture manufacturer, we would be able to produce a quality product, but in this project we wanted to pursue what we could not do with mass-produced furniture, by working with skilled craftspeople. At the end of the interview, he shared his vision for the future, "Wood varies greatly depending on where it comes from, what part of the mountain it grew in and when it was cut. Woodworkers always take these details into account when selecting materials. I believe that even designers need to understand the story behind the material, and we aim to create things through this process".

These chairs, developed in collaboration with the skilled woodworker, is currently available as the first product of the STUDIO EDITION by Teruhiro Yanagihara Studio. The STUDIO EDITION/TYS will be released as a second and third project in the future, so look forward to their new products.