Natural backrest chairs Studiovol

Austin Voll founded Studiovoll in 2017. Influenced by a year spent in Japan with artist Toshio Tokunaga, the designer is inspired by Japanese traditions. In his work, he claims a more intimate and more natural relationship to wood by returning to traditional and manual techniques. In parallel and in partnership with Okunaga Furniture, master blacksmith Ohara Yasuhiko, Kanzawa Works and Hitachi metals, the studio tends to transcend the traditional plane by taking advantage of contemporary technologies. The tool picks up fine wood chips and allows you to follow any bend. Kanna work gives the wood a smooth, shiny surface and preserves the essence of the elements.

The Natural Backrest chairs collection, published in 2020, offers a delicate demonstration of the possibilities offered by Kanna. Here a restored tool belonging to the Aizu blacksmith community around XNUMX years ago was used. The shapes were inspired by the natural asymmetry of the hemlock branch used for the backrest. Butternut, hemlock, sassafras, redwood, slippery elm, and white oak intertwine and reveal themselves under the plane blade. An ashy gradient made with sumi ink, traditionally used on Japanese paper, reveals new colors and expressions.

Sensitive to environmental issues, the studio strives to ensure that its works are as sculptural as they are useful and favors wood recovered and blown down by the wind.