When Japan meets Italy

A cool new range of chairs from Italian designer Enzo Mari for Japanese company Hida Sangyo - the leading wooden fruniture makers of Japan, based in the Takayama region. This company is known for its wood craftsmanship which goes all the way back to the 7th Century when craftsmen from Hida-Takayama were responsible for constructing the magnificent wooden temples of Kyoto and Nara including the now World Heritage site Horyu-ji, still standing after 13 centuries. This collection is made with Japanese sugi wood and realized with state-of-the-art industrial wood compression. Available in the US from Ameico.

Here's an interview with Mari about the series - sadly it's just in Italian with Japanese subtitles but it does show the whole series of products that extends beyond the above chairs into tables, benches and more (some of which aren't available in the US).