Tamashii Chair
“Buy a chair – get a tree” is the name of a project by the current Czech design student Anna Štěpánková, based in Tomas Bata University in Zlin, meant to promote her creation the Tamashii Dining Chair. “My intention was to give own story and energy to this piece of furniture, which I believe is highly important for a product to have,” Štěpánková explains when describing her chair and design concept. The energy and natural flow of the chair was found in a technique called Bunaco, while the classical Japanese folklorist references are obvious in what she tries to tell with the product.
There are many versions and interpretations of the Japanese myth of Sir Old-Man-Who-Makes-Trees-Blossom, although the conclusion is always similar. As an old, kind man’s dog is killed by the evil neighbor, the dog’s ashes and body give richness to the kind man and his wife and make his cherry trees blossom in the middle of winter. The story is, in its simplest form, a beautiful representation of how good care of animals, plants and all the nature around us will bring life and eternal blossom to the environment and future generations to come.
The connection to Štěpánková’s project is obvious as she includes this philosophy not only in her design and choice of materials but also in the delivery of the furniture itself. “Buy a chair – get a tree” is the literal idea behind the project as the buyer not only buys this beautiful piece of furniture but also a young beech tree. As one tree gives new life to the chair through the designer, a new beech tree is given life by the buyer.
“Why a beech tree?” you may ask yourself. The answer lies in a traditional handicraft technique called Bunaco, invented and refined in the northern Japanese city of Aomori. Bunaco is a technique were pieces of wood are finely sliced in thin strings, making them easily formed and shaped to capture organic movements and silhouettes by pulling the strings upwards from an original round shape – capturing the sense of re-birth and natural growth obvious when looking at the Tamashii Dining Chair. The beech tree does not only exist in considerable amounts in the Aomori region, but is also a part of the angiosperm species, a species of wood that allows for high flexibility, a natural glow and dramatic patterns – giving a wild and organic feel to anything it is used for and one of the many reasons to the natural look of Štěpánková’s creation.
In the story and in the feeling this chair represents, it is obvious that Štěpánková has been very careful in her choices. The connections to old Japanese folklore, the idea of a “circle-of-life” and the meeting between the old and the new, bringing old philosophical ideas into the next century, seem to have guided Štěpánková in every detail of the creation of this piece of furniture.
From the natural flow of the Bunaco inspired seat, to the dramatic impact of the meeting between the simple but delicately crafted legs and the concept of natural responsibility and re-birth of nature, Štěpánková has created a representation of what should guide us into the coming centuries.
Štěpánková’s thinking should inspire us, as the maintenance of our nature and the importance of taking care of our environment for future generations, combined with new ideas and modern expressions, leave us with a lot to think about.
