The Loku Chair by Shin Azumi was first launched in 2014, and has recently grown with a stool and table to extend the range for cafe's and restaurants.
Taking it's name from the Japanese word for the number 6, written 六 or Roku with the R sounding like an L, the chair makes reference to its six sides and six corners.
Shin Azumi designed the chair with these six sides to give a cohesive character and shape and extended this idea to the table with the six sides integral to the design.
We spoke to Shin about this design to understand more about his career and what shaped his thinking for the chair.
"I had the experience of using 3D plywood technology back in 2003. However, it is still an attractive new technology which is under development. Forming plywood in 3D shape is the great new technology.
"It is always very exciting to think about the new possibility and explore the new world with new technology.
"However, I found some of the 3D plywood shell chairs in the market are getting too similar to plastic ones. When I designed Loku, I was careful to keep the dignity and the beauty of a wooden chair."
Before Shin Azumi moved to London, he was working with NEC in Japan... "The experience at NEC Design Centre is still my lifetime treasure. It was a great training period as a young designer. I built my attitude of respecting the functionality of design and cultivated my sensitivity about the detail."
"When I was studying at Kyoto City University of Art in Japan, I happened to see the travelling exhibition of the UK's Royal College of Art degree show. It was extremely attractive, but it was also difficult to understand the background ideas. After that, I began to dream of going to the UK to study at the Royal College of Art.
"I always start from my observation. When I design something new, I always think carefully what can be the most outstanding feature within the brief."
One of Shin Azumi's best known products is the LEM stool... "I am proud of LEM and my design very much. I am also proud of the miracle moment of meeting with this great client who could understand the possibility of my design. They had a great enthusiasm toward manufacturing technology.
"I always feel good design is the result of great collaboration."
