Celebrating Life With Meaningful Design

In the city of Asahikawa, on the island of Hokkaido in Japan, life is celebrated with good design full of meaning. Here, every newborn child receives a gift that connects and anchors them to their birth place in a special way. As part of the ‘Kimi no Isu Project’, or ‘Your Chair Project’, one designer and one craftsman are invited annually to design and craft a chair for the children who were born that year in Asahikawa. The chairs are made of solid wood and they bear the name and birth date of the child, a logo and a serial number, making them truly one of a kind. For 2016, Japanese designer Mikiya Kobayashi created a beautiful chair meant to become “the first friend” of the child it belongs to. Organic lines and graceful curves combine in a design reminiscent of a living, friendly thing that will be by the side of its owner for years. Designed with a flat seat, the chair can be used as a table before being used as seating. The designer and craftsman change every year, but the chairs are always manufactured in Hokkaido. The ‘Kimi no Isu Project’ was launched in the city with great success so it comes as no surprise to learn it has already expanded to four other cities on the island. Images courtesy of Mikiya Kobayashi.