Furniture That Feels As If It Has Always Been There

Karimoku New Standard's style is to present furniture not as mere objects, but within a space that evokes everyday life – a place for sitting and talking, resting, eating and drinking, or reading, where furniture is used almost unconsciously.

In the small, interconnected rooms, the new and existing collections from Karimoku New Standard blended in seamlessly, as if they had always belonged there. Gentle light and a breeze flowed through the tall windows, carrying the sounds of the city.

Works by Christian Haas and BIG-GAME Debut

The latest additions include prototypes of a chair and table from the "SCOUT" series by Christian Haas, a designer new to the brand. Haas describes his first chair design as a challenge from scratch, "breaking away from the concept of wooden chairs." This resulted in an innovative structure, creating a chair that is compact yet offers the comfort of an armchair.

Prototypes of a sofa and armchair from the Castor series were also unveiled by BIG-GAME, a Swiss-based studio that has been involved with the brand since its inception. While retaining the series' distinctive design vocabulary, the pieces draw inspiration from the legendary Grand Confort sofa by the designers they admire, Le Corbusier.

Karimoku New Standard Through the Lens of Norihiro Kimura

This year, we also exhibited photographs and films by photographer Norihiro Kimura. Karimoku New Standard furniture is crafted from Japanese hardwoods. Kimura's warm perspective captured the background of production and the brand's story, documenting his journey through the forests of Tohoku where the trees grow, the lumber mills, and Karimoku's furniture manufacturing plant in Aichi Prefecture.

The videos from the Karimoku factory showcased a production environment where speedy, high-quality work is carried out by machines, alongside the meticulous craftsmanship of human hands focusing on details. The scale, the balance between machinery and human labor, and the degree of human involvement were all beyond imagination.

Throughout the exhibition, many visitors were observed watching the videos intently, then returning to examine the furniture displayed in the space.

• Feature | Salone del Mobile.Milano 2015