Stone Designs continues to seduce the Japanese

Daruma and Mushroom are its latest collections for Japanese firm Actus.

Madrid-based Stone Designs continues to captivate Japanese firms with its simple designs which are closely linked to nature. It has recently collaborated with the Japanese firm Actus, for which it has created the Daruma coat hanger-cum-storage unit and Mushroom collection of tables and stools.

The Japanese firm Actus decided to create a children’s furniture collection called The Blueprint in collaboration with the Japanese edition of kids’ magazine Milk. Twelve design studios, including from Japan, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain, took part in developing this. Stone Designs represents Spain with its designs Daruma and Mushroom. Daruma is a coat hanger-cum-storage unit inspired by eponymous Japanese dolls. Being a rocking design, it makes an action as humdrum as hanging up clothes or a rucksack a fun experience for children. Mushroom’s tables and stools are named after small mushrooms with simple forms; these are colourful, fun and will stimulate the imaginations of very small toddlers. These hollow pieces are also very practical since, turned upside down, they can be used as storage containers — which is a good thing as children start to grow — and even as planters or plant pots.

The relationship between Stone Designs and Japan is long-standing and goes beyond a simply commercial one since it hugely influences its designs. Its first product was for Toyota in 2010, and since then it has created designs for such Japanese firms as Muji, Komatsu, Mitsui Chemicals and Nakagawa Chemical. What’s more, in 2011 Stone Designs received an award for its exhibition stand design for Spainalight at Tokyo Designers Week. Beating off competition from a total of 400 entries, it scooped the Grand Prix Award prize — the first prize given by CS Award (www.cs-designaward.jp).