About her
About her
Ayana is a designer based in Kyoto.
Her curiosity for design and spaces started when she was a child. One of her favorite things to do was to make paintings, drawings, and small models of spaces and furniture. It was natural for her to start a journey of studying in the field of architecture and interior design.
Having completed her BA in architecture in 2017, including one year at Aalto University in Helsinki in 2013, Ayana started her career as an interior designer in Kyoto.
Ayana’s professional experience includes a wide range of project types and scales; both local and overseas; from private residences to commercial interiors. By being thoroughly involved from concept design to completion, Ayana delivers outstanding results and delights her clients.
Currently working as an interior designer based in Kyoto, Ayana is available for consulting with new clients by appointment.
Ayana is a designer based in Kyoto.
Her curiosity for design and spaces started when she was a child. One of her favorite things to do was to make paintings, drawings, and small models of spaces and furniture. It was natural for her to start a journey of studying in the field of architecture and interior design.
Having completed her BA in architecture in 2017, including one year at Aalto University in Helsinki in 2013, Ayana started her career as an interior designer in Kyoto.
Ayana’s professional experience includes a wide range of project types and scales; both local and overseas; from private residences to commercial interiors. By being thoroughly involved from concept design to completion, Ayana delivers outstanding results and delights her clients.
Currently working as an interior designer based in Kyoto, Ayana is available for consulting with new clients by appointment.
SQUEEZED FURNITURE
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In the winter of 2022, shortly after establishing my independent practice, I began visiting craft workshops across Japan to deepen my understanding of traditional crafts. During this time, I visited SatoKiyomatsuShoten in Kyoto to learn about urushi lacquer, where I encountered Koshiwata, cotton wadding left over from the urushi refinement process. To purify raw urushi, cotton is torn into fine strands and mixed into the lacquer, then spun in a centrifuge to extract the pure liquid. Having caught impurities within its fibers along the way, the cotton is left behind afterward, each fiber coated with a thin layer of lacquer.
Urushi is an exceptionally precious natural material, often described as being used "down to the last drop." Yet Koshiwata, coated with lacquer, is typically discarded as industrial waste. Confronted with this contradiction, I began to question whether this material could be reactivated and given a new role in another form.
In the summer of the following year, I proposed the idea of creating furniture from Koshiwata, marking the beginning of this upcycled furniture series. Through the steady, repeated process of manually loosening the fibers and pressing them into custom-made molds, we entered into an ongoing dialogue with the material. Through continued trial and error, we gradually figured out its structural strength and unique expression.
Squeezed Furniture refers to the act of compressing the material into its mold, a defining gesture throughout the making process. The series presents new spatial possibilities for urushi, celebrating the beauty of collectible design grounded in material scarcity, care, and intentional making.
Chair ⬜︎ (Square)
Chair Square is constructed by hand-loosening Koshiwata and squeezing it into custom-made wooden molds, where it is then compressed with clamps and left to dry. The resulting board-like material is cut using a table saw and assembled into a chair through minimal joints, forming a solid, self-supporting structure.
Each surface reveals the unique texture of the compressed fibers, responding subtly to light through shadow and reflection. The chair visualizes a new material expression of urushi, allowing its depth and density to become perceptible within space.
Chair ◯ (Round)
Chair Round develops from the material insights gained through Chair □, introducing curved forms made possible by a monolithic mold. Unlike Chair □, it requires no machining after forming.
Through modular combinations, the piece adapts to multiple uses, from a children's chair to a stool or side table, responding flexibly to different contexts. The design explores a more universal application while remaining closely attuned to the material's inherent properties.
Photography by Alexandre Ferdinand Maubert