For nearly two decades, Mira Nakashima worked in the shadow of her legendary father, master woodworker George Nakashima. She never intended to follow in his footsteps, but she was persuaded to join him in his woodworking business after earning a graduate degree in architecture from Tokyo’s Waseda University.
“My father was an architect who went to Harvard, didn’t like it and switched to MIT,” Nakashima explains.
“I went to Harvard and loved it. He encouraged me to study architecture, so I did. I would rather have studied music. I was in a dance group and a choral group. After college, my godmother took me on a tour of Zen monasteries in Japan. I went to live there with an aunt to master Japanese, flower arranging and the tea ceremony. Then I went to Waseda University, learning architecture by the atelier system, where you actually build things. I married a fellow student and we began having children. After we moved to Pittsburgh and had more babies, my father asked me if I wanted to come ‘home,’ promising to build us a house near him. My husband liked the idea, so we went. I began to do part-time work for my father. It was just a job. Then my husband and I parted, so I went to work with Dad. It was never planned.”
That part-time position turned into a full-time job, and when George Nakashima died, in 1990, Mira was faced with a choice: continue the family legacy or shutter the business. As news of her father’s death spread, clients started canceling orders, fearing that the studio’s innovation would wane without him at the helm.
Skeptics proved wrong. Mira Nakashima continued to execute her father’s iconic designs — such as his Conoid chair — while also creating new ones of her own that take advantage of and highlight the unique characteristics and allure of her, and her father’s, favored material.
“Keisho means ‘continuation’ in Japanese,” she says. “I am just as interested in traditional lines, classic proportions and fine wood specimens, but I work out my designs differently. The boards tell you what they want to reveal.”
Shop authentic Mira Nakashima tables, case pieces and more on 1stDibs.
Nakashima Studio Kent Hall Floor Lamp
By Mira Nakashima
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Nakashima Studio Kent Hall Floor Lamp Executed in 2000 Expressive root base A great Architectural form, signed Mira Nakashima and dated with clients name
Walnut
$120,000
H 59 in W 24.25 in D 24.25 in
George Nakashima Rosewood Minguren Floor Lamp with Asa Noha Shade
By George Nakashima
Located in Miami, FL
A rare example of this design. The base is Rosewood with beautiful grain and color. Shade is 24.25” square and 10” inches tall. Total height of lamp is 58.5” Possibly a unique spec...
Rosewood
Forest Antica I Floor Lamp by OHLA STUDIO
By Ohla Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Forest Antica I Floor Lamp by OHLA STUDIO Dimensions: D 50 x W 54 x H 150 cm Materials: Copper. 8 kg Available in other finishes: Silver, Forest, and Teal. A pre-Hispanic smithing...
Copper
Mid Century Chrome Studio Floor Lamp
Located in North Bergen, NJ
Mid-Century Modern studio floor lamp with adjustable height. Having chrome with red and blue accents. Perfect for any decor, adding a bit of flavor. Mid-Century Modern.
Chrome
Custom Made Teak Floor Lamp in the Style of Nakashima
By Frank Lloyd Wright, George Nakashima Studio
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Beautiful custom made teak floor lamp. Asian inspired in the style of nakashima or Frank Lloyd Wright. original owner bought somewhere in Asi...
Teak
$3,280Sale Price|20% Off
H 68 in W 21 in D 15 in
Nakashima Style Black Walnut Floor Lamp, Organic Modern Design, 1980s
By George Nakashima
Located in Camden, ME
This sculptural floor lamp exemplifies the spirit of studio craft furniture in the manner of George Nakashima, where organic form, material integrity, and restrained architecture con...
Walnut, Linen
Krasnogorov Studio, "Novios", Floor Lamp
By Krasnogorov Studio
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Spanish word Novios translates broadly as “a couple.” In the natural world, a coupling of one plus one often seems to add up to more than two. Beyond the obvious romantic meaning...
Sapele Wood
Floor Lamp by Nessen Studio W/ Table
By Nessen Studio
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Mid-Century Modern style floor lamp with table. Chrome frame and wood table, designed by Nessen Studio. Please confirm location.
Chrome
TC Floor Lamp 1 by Studio ThusThat
Located in Geneve, CH
TC floor lamp 1 by Studio ThusThat Unique piece. Dimensions: 150cm x 58cm x 30cm Materials: Hand-formed slag geopolymer, hammered copper, brass fitt...
Brass, Copper
Tiffany Studios Linenfold Floor Lamp
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Bronx, NY
This vintage original Tiffany Studios floor lamp is designed with a paneled “linenfold” gold color shade, signed Tiffany Studios, New York and numbered 1952, Patent applied for. This shade rests comfortably on a gold dore’ bronze floor base with a six light cluster & an in line floor switch. The base is stamped Tiffany Studios, New York and numbered 379. There is ONEvertical crack in one of the small horizontal segments seemn as a dark vertical line in photos 3 & 7. Height 62” Circumference 20” *** NO SHIPPING AVAILABLE. PICK UP ONLY...
Bronze
Antimatter Floor Lamp by Dechem Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Antimatter floor lamp by Dechem Studio. Dimensions: D 25 x H 55 cm. Materials: glass, metal. The massive, heavy and irregular black volume of the base contrasts with the light a...
Metal
XL Studio Floor Lamp by Narita
By Narita Studio
Located in Vlimmeren, BE
This great studio floor lamp was produced by Narita in Belgium in the 1950s. This impressive lamp is mobile on its 4 casters. The 2 lampshades (diameter 60 cm) can be rotated in any ...
Metal
Luigi Floor Lamp by Edoardo Lietti Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Luigi Floor Lamp by Edoardo Lietti Studio Unique Piece Dimensions: D 40 x W 46 x H 200 cm. Materials: Travertine Marble, birch plywood, and polished sta...
Stainless Steel
Nakahima Studio Table Lamp
By Mira Nakashima
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Nakashima Studio Table Lamp Expressive Root Base Executed in 2000 Signed Mira Nakashima,dated with clients name.
Walnut
Nakahima Studio Table Lamp
By Mira Nakashima
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Nakashima Studio Table Lamp Expressive Root Base Executed in 2000 Signed Mira Nakashima,dated with clients name.
Walnut
Nakashima Studios Floor Lamp
By Mira Nakashima
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A wonderful Root- Based Floor lamp. Original finish and Shade. Signed Mira Nakashima on underside of base with date and clients name.
Walnut
Authentic Mira Nakashima AsaNoHa Table Lamp, Signed
By Mira Nakashima
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Mira Nakashima walnut table lamp. Signed on bottom, authentic. The panels on the shade were made in Japan, according to Nakashimas direction. It is a very complex pattern in which 1...
Parchment Paper, Walnut