Market Collection: Noodling Around

-- Interior Design, 3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

It started with a plate of Japanese udon noodles. Impressed by the simplicity and resilience of the ancient dish, Naoto Fukasawa—of Ideo and MUJI fame—designed a two-part collection of seating and tables for Maruni Wood Industry.

Fukasawa channeled the noodles' silky yet firm texture to strike a harmonious balance between robustness and weight. Focusing on artisanship, structural ingenuity, and comfort, he left the beech and oak frames unpainted. They're finished, instead, in natural polyurethane.

All 15 pieces boast gentle curves and a slight taperingthat catches the light. For the Traditional series, he refined existing pieces by increasingtheir dimensions, streamlining legs, updating upholstery, and lightening finishes to showcase the wood grain. The Hiroshima series featuresstraightforward seating and tables that work in a multitude of settings. The result,he says, is “clean and subtle but still has humanity.” 81-3-3746-3603; maruni.com.circle 406