Jin Kuramoto adds maple furniture
to Matsuso T range

Cologne 2015: Japanese designer Jin Kuramoto has launched two collections of wooden furniture under his own brand Matsuso T (+ slideshow).

Jin Kuramoto has added the Sally chair and table, and the Molly shelving to the range offered by his Matsuso T furniture brand, which he launched last year.

Working with Japanese craftsmen that still use traditional carpentry techniques, the designer has created the new maple products to demonstrate these skills.

The first is a simple chair that features a gently curved seat. Its angled front legs extend up to support a rounded back rest, secured in place by two black screws on each side.

The two back legs point out in the opposite direction, braced with small joists positioned just below the seat.

“With the Sally chair, we have finally succeeded in producing a really strong structure with minimum parts,” said Kuramoto.

A four-legged table with a circular top is made from the same wood and constructed with pairs of matching black fastenings.

The designer has also created a modular shelving system based around a square grid of compartments.

Sections of the wooden shelves and stands are covered by upholstered doors, which hide some of the legs.

“The Molly shelf series has an unusual expression stemming from the contrast between crisp, right-angled wood joints of the structure and generous, fabric-covered surfaces,” Kuramoto said.

Dark-coloured boards are placed onto the back of the units, offset from the vertical elements.

Molly is available in a variety of sizes and configurations, some large enough to act as room dividers.

Both designs were unveiled at the imm Cologne trade fair earlier this month, where Matsuso T also debuted a collection of stripy wooden furniture by Claesson Koivisto Rune.

Last year the brand showed a range of pentagonal furniture, also by Claesson Koivisto Rune, as well as Kuramoto’s own designs at the Stockholm Furniture Fair.

Photography is by Takumi Ota.

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