�Honey-pop� chair

After graduating from the Kuwasawa Design Institute, Tokujin Yoshioka worked in the studio of Shiro Kuramata, one of the most influential industrial designers in postwar Japan, which led him to become the in-house designer for Issey Miyake. Yoshioka set up his own studio for interior design and products in 1992. Yoshioka caused an international sensation when he presented his limited-edition "Honey-pop" chair at the Milan Furniture Fair in 2002. It has been acquired for the permanent collections of the Vitra Design Museum, Weil-am-Rhein, Germany; the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The "Honey-pop" chair, made from layers of paper-thin glassine paper, takes on the form of a honeycomb when it is opened up, and is molded into a chair when a person sits on it. It employs a cellulose version of the exceptionally strong, lightweight cellular material used in the aeronautical industry. The final, apparently simple product, feather-light and extremely durable, is the fruit of long research. Undeniably a master of materials, Tokujin Yoshioka also makes distinctive commercial and cultural spaces that evoke a wondrous sense of immateriality. His work has been featured in numerous museum exhibitions worldwide.