Akiko Kuwahata & Ken Winther

Akiko Ken Made

Furniture maker

Harmonious designs inviting touch

Together, Akiko and Ken make beautiful wooden objects
The type and feel of each wood they use dictate what object they will make from it
Achieving harmony is their objective with each piece

Akiko Kuwahata has a university degree in design and trained as a cabinetmaker in Japan. Ken Winther is a cabinetmaker and second-generation furniture maker of Danish renown. Akiko and Ken are a unit, at work as well as at home. They work as two sets of hands, often without words, and constantly test and feel their way. The feeling has to be right, and when it is, the piece has found its form. They explain that wood itself is always their starting point: what it is, what it wants to do, and where it wants to go. Having a feeling for the wood is essential to Akiko and Ken's approach to furniture making. Their workshop is called Akiko Ken Made, and makes no distinction between one-off pieces and household objects. "Harmony is when material, design, and usefulness merge together," say Ken and Akiko. Every piece they craft is an invitation to reach out and feel for ourselves.

Interview

Coming from Japan and Denmark, how do you define your designs?: Form and design come naturally from within. We do not consciously seek to strike a balance between Japanese and Danish, it is just at our core. However, once we have developed a new piece, we clearly see the references to our respective heritages.
How do you achieve harmony?: It usually takes some time as it is a process, but it is not a strenuous effort. Early on, we do various sketches and mock-ups to see if the design works at all. From here on, we use our sense of touch, and feel our way to arrive at the harmony we seek.
How do the demands of sustainability influence your work and design process?: Working the way we do and striving to make pieces that will last many years, sustainability is a natural and ingrained part of our DNA. We also choose our wood suppliers carefully to ensure that every step in the process is sustainable.
Have you had a recent discovery about wood that has had an influence on your method?: After 30 years, we still learn new things, but we would not call them aha discoveries. We like to challenge ourselves, which means that every new piece presents a set of challenges that, naturally, will produce new knowledge and insight, too. That process is very enriching.

Akiko Kuwahata & Ken Winther are expert artisans: they began their career in 2000