Ibazen

Ibazen is the furniture studio of Iba Takahito, based in the small town of Biel, a hill town in the central region of Hokkaido, the north Island of Japan. Mountainous hillsides covered in forest rise up to either side, where the trees that support Hokkaido's history of woodworking are grown. Using exclusively domestic, locally sourced Hokkaido and Japanese hardwoods, including Japanese oak (nara) and Sakura (cherry blossom), Takahito creates beautifully made furniture and smaller household pieces.

Initially trained in the art of motorcycle painting, Takahito transferred these skills via an apprenticeship with an Urushi Master, gradually becoming a master of the technique himself. He studied under wood sculptor Takahashi Yoshiaki, attended the Kyoto Technical Academy, and trained at Studio Yazawa under Yazawa Kintaro. Since 2007, he has been working in his own studio, designing and making beautiful, timeless homewares.

Takahito employs traditional Japanese timberwork techniques such as box joints and dovetail joints without relying on modern shortcuts. Every piece is shaped and smoothed by hand using traditional hand-held planes rather than heavy industrial machinery. The wood is then finished with Urushi lacquer (often applied in multiple hand-rubbed layers in a technique called fuki-urushi), which cures slowly to yield a durable, deep, lustrous, and long-lasting heirloom finish. Hand carved undulations in the surface of the wood create a beautiful surface for the qualities of the lacquer to really shine.

Ibazen's Japanese oak creations include stools, small benches, wall and desk clocks, tabletop or wall-mounted shelves, and magnetic picture hangers. Pieces can be made to order when we don't have them in stock, which takes approximately 8 – 12 weeks.