"True beauty is not made; it is born naturally", Sori YanagiWith the revival of iconic plywood furniture by the Eameses and Nelson taking place in recent years, a simple, wood stool from the same period has also come to the attention of mid-century furniture connoisseurs and enthusiasts alike. Made from two identical molded plywood forms held together with a simple brass stretcher, the Butterfly Stool embodies the perfect fusion of Eastern aesthetics and modern technology. The result is not unlike a Japanese haiku in plywood— succinct, graceful and atmospheric. The designer of this stool, Sori Yanagi, has achieved significantly more than the bridging of East and West in his designs. Active in the immediate postwar era, Yanagi’s work embodies the optimism of the new industrial age without losing the delicacy and lightness that is so indicative of traditional Japanese design.
The organic forms of the mid-century mesh seamlessly with Yanagi’s own sensibilities, and appear repeatedly in his prolific career, from lighting and chairs to flatware and teakettles. Beyond just updating traditional Japanese forms for the modern age, Yanagi manages to transform mere raw materials, like his inspiration the butterfly, into objects of functional poetry.
