THIS PICTURE, KUNSIK CHOI
WITH NIKARI’S CREATIVE
DIRECTOR JENNI ROININEN
AT THE NIKARI WORKSHOP
RIGHT, THE BENCH FEATURES
A DETACHABLE HANDLE
BELOW, THE FORESTED
SURROUNDINGS OF THE
NIKARI WORKSHOP‘Part of wellbeing is to surround ourselves
with beautiful things, and this is beautiful’
Choi’s bench, like much of Nikari’s furniture range,
was produced in European ash, processed by the
neighbouring sawmill. ‘Even in small dimensions,
ash still allows for durable joints. It has a beautiful
grain structure with an interesting darker-coloured
core area,’ says Nikari CEO Johanna Vuorio. The
corners of the bench, on the other hand, were detailed
with walnut. ‘We hardly use walnut at Nikari because
it doesn’t grow in Finland, but we had some left
over from an art piece we’d done way back. We always
try to put our leftovers to good use.’ In addition to its
decorative effect, the walnut detailing also serves to
highlight the dimensions of the piece, so the user is
less likely to bump into it by accident. Walnut was also
used for the key that slides out to release the handle,
to serve as a visual cue that this is a removable piece.
Construction was carried out over the course of
a month. Individual parts were assembled entirely with
mortise and tenon joints, without the use of a single
nail, a feature made manifest by the tapered ends of
the stretchers and the perpendicular bars that connectthem. A layer of cork was glued to the surface to
offer padding for horizontal exercises, while a disc
of the same cork is also found at the base of each
leg to dampen noise during vigorous workouts.
The designer made two visits to Nikari HQ. He was
very drawn by the setting, but most impressed by the
level of craftsmanship. ‘They have a lot of knowledge
of cabinetry, and I learned some new approaches. They
are not a small operation, yet they manage to maintain
the quality that one expects from handcrafted work.’
Vuorio, who worked alongside Nikari’s creative
director Jenni Roininen on the project, feels the
gamble on Choi has paid off handsomely. ‘Kunsik’s
earlier education in cabinetmaking meant it was
easy to talk to him about different craftsmanship-
oriented possibilities.’ Ultimately, she believes the
strength of their collaboration lies in the timelessness
of the end result. ‘Part of wellbeing is to surround
ourselves with beautiful things, and this is a beautiful
piece. We know it will grow old in an elegant way.’ ∂
kunsik.com; nikari.fi112 ∑
Making Of...