Japanese brand Muji and German furniture manufacturers Thonet have collaborated to produce two collections of tubular steel and bent wood furniture.

The tubular steel series (above and below) was created by designer Konstantin Grcic and comprises a chair and desk in three sizes.

Three polypropylene drawers can be suspended beneath the MDF table top.

The beech, bent wood collection (above and below) was designed by Milan-based, British designer James Irvine (creative director of Thonet) and features a single panel supporting the back of the chair, which aligns with the accompanying table top.

Both designs are Launched in the UK today.

Here's some text from Muji:

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“MUJI manufactured by THONET”

“In all the world, only the Thonet factory in Germany is capable of producing bentwood and steel pipe furniture of this quality.” Masaaki
Kanai, President and Representative Director of Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. (MUJI)

“Muji manufactured by THONET” is a collection of simplified, stylised Thonet designs made of bentwood and tubular steel, manufactured to Thonet’s customary high standards at their Frankenberg HQ and available exclusively at Muji stores in Japan, Germany, Paris and the UK.

There are plans to enhance the collection in the near future. Both Muji and Thonet have collaborated with international designers in the past. What is ground breaking for both companies is their decision to work together with named designers to reinterpret important design masterpieces from Thonet’s historic back catalogue, making them accessible to a younger, broader, “Muji” marketplace.

By uniting the design heritage, skilled craftsmanship and manufacturing capabilities of Thonet with the streamlined design aesthetic of Muji, not to mention its youthful, design savvy audience, beautiful designs gain new relevance for today’s modern, urban lifestyle. The beech bentwood collection takes Thonet’s most famous bentwood chair, No. 14, as its inspiration. (This design – now called the 214 chair - still features in the Thonet collection, this year celebrating its 150th birthday.)

Milan based English designer, James Irvine, now Creative Director at Thonet, exploits the beauty of the curved lines of the original chair design, adding a simple, horizontal panel to support the back. The seat of the chair is constructed of either wood or mesh. The new MUJI No. 14 chair is robust, yet so light you can virtually lift it with one finger. When placed next to the corresponding dining table, which is available in 2 sizes to seat either 4 or 6, the back panel merges with the tabletop, leaving only the elegant line of the bentwood visible.

The second collection, designed by German designer and graduate of the Royal College of Art, Konstantin Grcic, celebrates Thonet’s tubular steel furniture tradition, dating back to the Bauhaus designers of the 1920’s. An iconographic cantilever chair with tubular steel frame and plywood seat shell, reminiscent of designs like Breuer’s B 32, is created with the image in mind of “sitting on air”. Its clean, simple lines and functional flexibility will introduce the effortless style and timeless beauty of the period to a new, contemporary audience. To team with the chair, Grcic has designed a tubular steel desk with dark grey MDF tabletop, available in 3 sizes. A suspended shelf accommodating 3 polypropylene drawers is an optional addition to the desk and a low table, also in 3 sizes, with optional shallow suspended shelf complete the collection.

In line with strict environmental policies of both companies, materials and manufacturing processes have been carefully selected both for their minimal impact on the environment and for their cost. Whilst quality remains a key priority in the development of these designs, accessibility is paramount. These are investment pieces without the luxury price tag.

These are investment pieces without the luxury price tag. “MUJI manufactured by THONET” was unveiled at the Tokyo Design Week in November 2008 and went on sale exclusively at top Muji stores in Japan prior to Xmas 2008.

The collection will be available at the end of May in Muji stores in Germany and France, prior to arriving in the UK, where it will be available exclusively at Muji’s flagship store in Tottenham Court Road, London from August 2009. Pieces will be available to order on 6-8 weeks delivery. Prices start at £215.

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Towel With Further Options by Japanese designers NIIMI is designed to be recycled as a bath-mat and a cleaning cloth as it wears out.

The concept, by Takuya and Yuki Niimi, references the Japanese tradition of cutting up old yukata (traditional Japanese bathing clothes) to make nappies or floor cloths.

The aim is to extend the useful life of the towelling once the fabric has become old and worn.

The grid-like pattern woven into the towelling acts as a marker for cutting square modules, helping the consumer to imagine future uses.

The design fits easily into the usual production process for towels, where a washcloth is made from a larger piece of towelling by dividing it into squares.

The project was awarded the Gold Prize by the judges of the Muji Award 02 (the award was announced in December last year but we've only just got images large enough to publish).

Here are the citations from the judges of the Muji Award:

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NIIMI [Takuya Niimi/Yuki Niimi] (Japan)

This bath towel moves your mind toward further uses of the product. Towels take everyday dirt and gradually become damaged. In accordance with such changes, you can downsize the towel with "further options" from a bath towel to a bath mat, and then to a floor cloth and dust cloth.

The towel has a vertical and horizontal textured surface that does not produce pile-fabric waste when cut with scissors. The lines act as a marker for cutting and form square modules that let you imagine other uses, encouraging you to re-use it

Although the winning entry for the Gold Prize may not appear to be new if you know the textile production process, it made me RE-think something. Japanese people used to re-use yukata for diapers or floor cloths.

Kazuko Koike (Muji adviser, Creative Director)

Many products on the market are in completed form when purchased, and you just want to use it for as long as possible. This towel, however, gradually fits more comfortably in your hands and on your body after being washed many times and, some day in the future, might be divided into smaller pieces for use as a washcloth or even a floor cloth. This entry lets me imagine the passing of time. New and convenient products are created everyday, but we also have a strong desire to live simply without increasing our belongings.

Takashi Sugimoto (MUJI adviser, Interior Designer)

The Gold Prize bath towel is very clever. You can use it first as a towel, and then as a bathroom rug when it becomes a little rough, and finally even as a floor cloth. The towel perfectly applied this natural cycle into its design. Using the idea of recycling, which used to be seen in the re-use of kimono back in the Edo period, was also beautiful as a response to the award theme.

Kenya Hara (Muji adviser, Graphic designer)

Gold Prize

The Gold Prize towel was highly praised by Muji members. They sure have an intimate knowledge of the production process of towels; a washcloth for example is made from a large piece of towel by dividing it into smaller pieces. Therefore, this idea fits easily into the production process. Muji products value efficiency in the production process, so this idea is superior to many other entries, which represented excellent ideas but were difficult to produce.

Naoto Fukasawa (Muji adviser, product designer)

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