Shoji Screen

Ariake translates as “daybreak” in Japanese and perfectly signals a new beginning for the union of 2 of that country’s well-established furniture companies, Legnatec and Hirata Chair. Drawing from Japanese and Scandinavian influences, the coalescing brand engages a roster of well-known international designers for its diverse collection, including Copenhagen-based mainstays Norm Architects and noted Swede Steffan Holm, along with Anderssen & Voll (Norway), Gabriel Tan (Singapore), Keiji Ashizawa (Japan), Shin Azumi (Japan) and Zoe Mowat (Canada).

First conceived when a group of the designers gathered for an intensive design workshop that took place in the small town of Morodomi in southern Japan, the expanded collection employs tactile natural materials and rich finishes. Superbly crafted furnishings are fashioned in oak, ash, hinoki and cedar woods; buttery leather; paper cord and fine upholstery fabrics; as well as unique Japanese-inflected finishes. Each piece is crafted in Morodomi, from Mowat’s Aiizome storage cabinet painted with sumi ink, red dye and two shades of Japanese indigo, to Ashizawa’s evocative plumply cushioned Raft platform sofa, to Anderssen & Voll’s sculpted-wood Blest side chair with its curved back reminiscent of a sail.