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.
2001 Rare Set of Three Mira Nakashima Custom Counter Stools in Black Walnut 27in
By Mira Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a rare set of three American Black Walnut Counter Stools, designed and created by Mira Nakashima for a client in 2001. The wood for ...
Reyes Counter Stool in Walnut with Black Leather
By Martell Woodworks
Located in Mendocino, CA
This is a walnut counter stool with a stretched leather seat and back. The frame is solid walnut with a gentle radius at the interior joints and ...
Brass
Modern Counter Stools in Walnut, Cicely Collection
By Bertu Furniture
Located in Oak Harbor, OH
These walnut counter height cicely stools are beautifully constructed from solid walnut in Ohio, USA. This stool was style-spotted ...
Walnut
Set of 2 Contemporary Cane Back Counter Stool in Ebony
By Duistt
Located in NEW YORK, NY
With a hint of retro, the design of this stool is inspired from the 1950s and the modernist movement of that period. W 51cm 20” D 56,5cm 22” H 83cm 32.7” SH 60cm 23.6” Materials:...
Brass
Clarkester Counter Stool Walnut Black
Located in Cincinnati, US
A perfect mix of Scandinavian inspiration and industrial flare that cohesively come together to make a statement piece which embodies simplicity, functionality and elegance. The ...
Steel
Beachcomber Counter Stool in Walnut
By Greg Mitchell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Light and strong, the Beachcomber Counter Stool evokes the sight of an old wooden single hull; it's lean, sturdy mast together with the rigging worthy of the high seas. Constructed of hand shaped legs and stretchers, each piece is carefully fit and pinned with hardwood pegs and wedges to last for generations, much like the sea craft that inspire them. For every bar stool, we start with scrupulously chosen lumber; each board must consist of straight grain and have absolutely no defects. This is not just for aesthetics, the clear grain gives the stool its strength. The boards are then milled to dimension and shaped by hand using a combination of machines and time honored hand tools. They are then given a polish by taking thin shavings with well sharpened planes and spokeshaves; rarely is sandpaper used in our shop. Once assembled, the Beachcomber bar stool...
Maple, Walnut
Roberts Counter Stool Walnut Mustard
Located in Cincinnati, US
This sleek stool has a thin carved wooden seat that rests on a steel tubing base. The elegant seat is curved for seamless comfort while displaying a stunning intersecting diagonal ac...
Steel
$16,000
H 44.5 in W 20 in D 17.5 in
California Craft Arthur Espenet Carpenter Three Leg Counter Stool in Walnut
By Arthur Espenet Carpenter
Located in Chicago, IL
California Craft Arthur Espenet Carpenter Three Leg Counter Stool in Walnut Features original woven leather slung seat with sculpted wood L-shape frame. The stool has a 360 degree sw...
Leather, Walnut
Bertu Counter Stools, Boca Uno Walnut Counter Stool
By Bertu Furniture
Located in Oak Harbor, OH
Bertu Counter Stools, Boca Uno Walnut Counter Stool Please scroll down to read IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT OUR STUMPS before purchase! Why buy B...
Wood, Walnut
Roberts Counter Stool with Wood Inlay Walnut Black
Located in Cincinnati, US
This sleek stool has a thin carved wooden seat that rests on a steel tubing base. The elegant seat is curved for seamless comfort while displaying a stunning intersecting diagonal ac...
Steel
$1,650 / set
H 27 in W 17 in D 13.5 in
Jasper Morrison Hi Pad Counter Stools for Cappellini - Set of Three
By Cappellini, Jasper Morrison
Located in Miami, FL
Set of Three Hi Pad counter stools with foot rests designed by Jasper Morrison for Cappellini. The Hi Pad stool features a seat in beech plywood padded with multi-density polyurethan...
Steel
Set of Three Mario Bellini Cab Counter Stools for Cassina
By Cassina, Mario Bellini
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This iconic design by Mario Bellini for Cassina c.1970s, Italy, features the original chalky white saddle leather which is wrapped atop a steel frame. The back legs feature a black z...
Steel
$3,000 / item
H 38.5 in W 18.75 in D 21 in
Craftassociates Counter Stools, Cane Counter Height Stools, Walnut and Leather
By Craft Associates
Located in Oak Harbor, OH
Craftassociates counter stools, cane counter height stools, walnut and leather, Craftassociates counter stools, cane counter height stools, walnut and l...
Walnut, Cane
Sold
H 17 in W 20 in D 20 in
Mira Nakashima Signed Greenrock Walnut & Brown Leather Ottomans/Stools, USA 1992
By Mira Nakashima
Located in New York, NY
Rare and wonderful these ottoman or stools have Nakashima's very distinctive conoid base.
Textile, Walnut
Pair of Nakashima Greenrock Ottomans
By Mira Nakashima
Located in Chicago, IL
Nakashima Studio Ottomans. First made in 1975 for Governor Rockefeller’s Japanese House in Pocantico Hills. American Black Walnut with Kimono fabric cushions.
Rosewood, Walnut