Ayako Aratani is a furniture designer based in Detroit. Her creations embrace imperfection through the handcraft of artful objects in the home that embody physical and visual comfort. She reimagines functional products as playful individuals with whimsical personalities that live their own lives side by side with us. Finding the value in irregularity and distortions Ayako engages with materials and fabrication processes that allow each piece to invoke a feeling of welcome, familiarity, and harmony in the home.

 

Aratani was born and raised in Japan where she studied product design at Chiba University graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Engineering. In 2016 she received her Master of Fine Arts at Cranbrook Academy of Art in the 3D design department. Her work awarded including the UNESCO Design City World Wide Things Collection in 2019 and the 1 of 100 selections by Designlines Magazine in 2017 for a clock, the iF Design Award in 2015 for a table currently manufactured by Okamura, and the 2014 Bronze Prize MUJI International Design Award for children’s stationery. Past exhibitions are a solo show as a duo of Aratani Fay at Salon Gallery in Boston, a group exhibition Never Normal at Wasserman Project Gallery in Detroit, a selected group exhibition at Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Architectural Design Digest Show in NYC, Salone Satellite in Milan, Collective Design in NYC, Interior Design Show in Toronto.