Designed By: Kawakami
Made By: Nissin, Japan
My Category: Furniture
I am: A stool with a shoehorn.
Award-winning Japanese designer Kawakami has always preferred smart-looking lace-up shoes over loose-fitting slip-ons. For this reason, whenever he heads out, he first sits down and uses a shoehorn to put on his shoes. It was while doing this that he had a light bulb moment: to merge a shoehorn into the structure of a chair! Step Step was the result. Best of all, Step Step is a breeze to assemble using the traditional wooden screw system, which means there is not need for tools.
Kawakami designed Step Step for Japanese brand Nissin, which is based in Gifu’s northern city of Hida, an area known for its production of simple, modern furniture, crafted using traditional, sophisticated techniques handed down through the generations.
Nissin’s furniture pieces are comfortable, light, sturdy and designed to last. Importantly, the company believes strongly in sustainability and environmental conservation. They plant their own trees and place strict controls on the timber.