Some pieces of contemporary furniture try to command attention with statement-making forms, while others aim to seduce with pared-down, meticulously detailed perfection. Nendo is remarkable in its ability to blend these two seemingly disparate qualities in objects that are simultaneously provocative and beautiful in their simplicity. And this ability has made the Tokyo- and Milan-based studio one of the most sought-after design firms of the moment.
Nendo is best known for its expansive portfolio of furniture and accessories designed for such luxury makers as Baccarat, Bisazza, Boffi, Cappellini, De Padova, Emeco, FLOS, Foscarini, Fritz Hansen, Kartell, Lasvit, Louis Poulsen, Moroso and Swarovski, as well as for the one-off and limited-edition pieces presented by galleries like New York’s Friedman Benda. But its range is much broader.
Nendo’s full oeuvre runs the gamut from product packaging for such brands as Coca-Cola and Kenzo to large-scale urban-planning and architecture projects, including Tenri Station Plaza CoFuFun, which populated the space in front of a Japanese rail terminal with a series of conical pavilions, turning it into a sort of urban playground for people of all ages.
Whatever the undertaking, the studio’s approach remains the same: embodying lighthearted insights into the human experience in minimalist forms and details. Nendo’s Gaku collection, for the legendary lighting company FLOS, for instance, is based on a simple cup-shaped lamp in a square frame, which can be personalized and changed over time by adding magnetic accessories, including a bookend, mirror, vase and bowl, making it almost as playful as a grown-up dollhouse.
The now iconic Cabbage chair, Nendo’s most recognizable design, offers a whimsical way to deal with trash from the fashion industry. A fat roll of discarded paper used in the production of Issey Miyake’s pleated fabric is simply cut down the middle and its individual layers peeled open to create a seat.
It wasn’t always evident that chief designer and Nendo cofounder Oki Sato would spend his life finding subtle surprises in tables, floor lamps and chairs. He was born in Toronto, where his father worked for Pioneer Electronics, and moved with his family to Tokyo when he was 11. He studied architecture at Waseda University but found the program a little too narrow and rigid for his liking.
After graduating, in 2002, he traveled with friends to the Salone del Mobile in Milan and stumbled into the biggest aha moment of his life: He realized that architects could do more than design buildings — they could also design furniture, lighting and other objects. And the architects at the fair appeared to be enjoying plenty of creative freedom while doing so.
Upon returning to Tokyo, he founded Nendo, whose name means “flexible clay” in Japanese, with his classmate Akihiro Ito, the firm’s managing director. In 2005, they established a second office, in Milan. Within a few years, Nendo had become an omnipresent name at the fair that had inspired them.
Nendo’s wares have been acquired by such institutions as New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; London’s Victoria and Albert; and Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Centre Pompidou.
Find Nendo furniture on 1stDibs.
$4,900 / item
Drop High bookcase by Nendo for Cappellini
By Cappellini, Nendo
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An ingenious challenge against the force of gravity, the Drop, by Nendo, is a two-sided column bookshelf offered in 3 different heights. The Drop bookshelves are made of matte lacq...
Metal
$2,975 / item
Drop Low bookcase by Nendo for Cappellini
By Cappellini, Nendo
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An ingenious challenge against the force of gravity, the Drop, by Nendo, is a two-sided column bookshelf offered in 3 different heights. The Drop bookshelves are made of matte lacq...
Metal
$9,026 / item
Desalto STEP Small bookcase By Nendo
By Desalto, Nendo
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Simplicity of lines and lightweight volumes are the expressive key of the range of STEP bookcases designed by Nendo, able to harmonise and blend in na...
Wood
$2,072Sale Price / item|20% Off
Kartell Sundial Modular Bookcase in Crystal and White by Nendo
By Nendo, Kartell
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Sundial is the bookcase whose dividing elements, placed in different directions, create a game of unexpected and original proportions.
Resin
$4,312 / item
Drop Medium bookcase by Nendo for Cappellini
By Cappellini, Nendo
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An ingenious challenge against the force of gravity, the Drop, by Nendo, is a two-sided column bookshelf offered in 3 different heights. The Drop bookshelves are made of matte lacq...
Metal
Glas Italia Deep Sea Open Bookcase - Blue glass - design Nendo
By Nendo, Glas Italia
Located in Varedo, MB
Deep Sea by Glas Italia, designed by Nendo, is an open bookcase crafted from extralight laminated and thermally bonded glass. Part of the Deep Sea collection of low tables and bookca...
Glass
Glas Italia Deep Sea Open Bookcase - Smoked glass - design Nendo
By Nendo, Glas Italia
Located in Varedo, MB
Deep Sea by Glas Italia, designed by Nendo, is an open bookcase crafted from extralight laminated and thermally bonded glass. Part of the Deep Sea collection of low tables and bookca...
Glass
$3,494 / item
Forest bookcase by Nendo for Driade
By Nendo, Driade
Located in Ravenna, IT
Bookcase designed by Nendo for Driade. The bookcase features shelves interspersed with rotated vertical elements, which serve as an aesthetic and functional element to support books....
Wood
Glas Italia Drift Sliding Door Cabinet H131cm (51.6in) - Nendo Display Cabinet
By Nendo, Glas Italia
Located in Varedo, MB
Drift, designed by Nendo for Glas Italia, is a cabinet with sliding doors crafted in extraclear acid-etched tempered glass, UV-bonded for durability. A black oak wooden box, serving ...
Glass, Wood
Glas Italia Layers Bookshelf 160 cm (63 in) design Nendo - Blue Gray Violet
By Nendo, Glas Italia
Located in Varedo, MB
Layers by Glas Italia, designed by Nendo, is a sophisticated bookshelf that combines transparency, color, and modular design in a dynamic display of contemporary craftsmanship. The ...
Glass
Glas Italia Drift Sliding Door Cabinet H81cm (31.9in) - Nendo - Display Cabinet
By Glas Italia, Nendo
Located in Varedo, MB
Drift, designed by Nendo for Glas Italia, is a cabinet with sliding doors crafted in extraclear acid-etched tempered glass, UV-bonded for durability. A black oak wooden box, serving ...
Glass, Wood
$11,101 / item
Desalto STEP Large bookcase By Nendo
By Nendo, Desalto
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Simplicity of lines and lightweight volumes are the expressive key of the range of STEP bookcases designed by Nendo, able to harmonise and blend in na...
Wood
Glas Italia Drift Low TV Cabinet in Extra-Clear Frosted Glass by Nendo
By Glas Italia, Nendo
Located in Varedo, MB
The Drift low TV cabinet by Glas Italia, designed by Nendo, is a refined storage piece that blends minimalism with striking visual illusion. Part of the Drift collection, this cabin...
Glass, Wood
Glas Italia Layers Bookshelf 200 cm (78.7 in) design Nendo - Orange, red, brown
By Glas Italia, Nendo
Located in Varedo, MB
Layers by Glas Italia, designed by Nendo, is a sophisticated bookshelf that combines transparency, color, and modular design in a dynamic display of contemporary craftsmanship. The ...
Glass
$18,000
H 76 in W 159.5 in D 18 in
California Modern Cerused Oak Modular Bookcase Room Divider by Lou Hodges, 1970s
By Lou Hodges
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 80's light blue cerused oak modular wall bookcase, which is finished on the back so can also be used as a floating room divider, is by Lou Hodges and was designed and produced i...
Oak
Mogens Koch Bookcases for Rud. Rasmussen
By Mogens Koch, Rud Rasmussen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
A cabinet and two bookcases in ash. Executed by Rud. Rasmussen. Reverse with paper labels ‘RUD. RASMUSSENS/SNEDKERIER/COPENHAGEN/DENMARK.
Ash
Pair Regency Open Bookcases in Walnut Open Front Bookcase
Located in Potters Bar, GB
Gorgeous pair of Regency Sheraton style open front bookcase in burl walnut Tall and thin so elegant design to this piece We can also split the pair up if you are looking for a single...
Walnut
$3,749Sale Price|53% Off
H 70 in W 64.25 in D 16.5 in
Mid-Century Modern Burled Bookcase Wall Unit Cabinet by Johan Tapp for Gumps
By Johan Tapp, Gumps
Located in Lafayette, IN
Spectacular burled cabinet/wall unit designed by Johan Tapp for Gumps. Cabinet features beautiful book-matched burl veneered doors, solid brass hardwa...
Brass
Scandinavian Bookcase in Pine by Carl Malmsten
By Carl Malmsten
Located in Karlstad, SE
A beautiful shelf designed by Carl Malmsten, manufactured in his own studio, 1940s. This piece goes together well with pine furniture from other Swedish designers from the era, suc...
Pine
$3,950
H 63.75 in W 36 in D 12.5 in
Paul McCobb Planner Group Maple Modular 3 Piece, 4 Drawer Shelves - Bookcase
By Paul McCobb, Winchendon, Planner Group
Located in Bainbridge, NY
Paul McCobb Planner Group for Winchendon three piece, sectional Bookcase, Shelves, Drawers, 1950's. Featuring rectangular construction in Maple, three modular sections, open top uni...
Birch
$1,702Sale Price|25% Off
H 17.75 in W 17.25 in D 6 in
Cappellini Cross Medicine Cabinet in Gloss White, Thomas Eriksson, Italy, 1990s
By Cappellini, Thomas Eriksson
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Cappellini Cross Medicine Cabinet in Gloss White, Thomas Eriksson, Italy, 1990s. Equal parts storage solution and wall art, Thomas Eriksson's Cross...
Steel
Regency Mahogany Open Bookcase
Located in Essex, MA
Rectangular top with pointed arched top. Top shelf hinged over three graduated shelves. Base with shelf over two drawers with wood knobs. Circular tapered legs with casters.
Mahogany
$3,850
H 42 in W 40 in D 17 in
Gilbert Rohde Art Deco Paldao Cabinet Refinished Drop Front Secretary Bookcase
By Herman Miller, Gilbert Rohde
Located in Atlanta, GA
Clean Lined Art Deco Cabinet, designed by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller, American, circa 1930s. This piece is currently being refinished and will look wonderful when completed. Thi...
Metal
$6,896 / item
H 78.75 in W 78.75 in D 15.75 in
Pontile Bookcase, in canaletto walnut, by Accardi Buccheri for Medulum
By Mauro Accardi & Silvia Buccheri
Located in Meolo, Venezia
Bookcase made of a series of solid wood poles with circular section, veneered shelves with solid wood edging, all made of Canaletto walnut finished with transparent paint. The head of the poles is coated with a blue protective paint. The system is completed by two storage compartments that feature sliding doors with integrated handle. The library is shipped semi assembled. Libreria costituita da pali continui a sezione circolare in legno massello. Ripiani impiallacciati con bordatura in massello. Il tutto realizzato in noce canaletto finito con vernice trasparente. La testa...
Wood, Walnut
Pair Regency Open Bookcases in Walnut Open Front Bookcase
Located in Potters Bar, GB
Gorgeous pair of Regency Sheraton style open front bookcase in burl walnut Tall and thin so elegant design to this piece We can also split the pair up if you are looking for a single...
Walnut
$6,911 / item
H 78.75 in W 78.75 in D 15.75 in
Pontile Bookcase, in canaletto walnut, by Accardi Buccheri for Medulum
By Mauro Accardi & Silvia Buccheri
Located in Meolo, Venezia
Bookcase made of a series of solid wood poles with circular section, veneered shelves with solid wood edging, all made of Canaletto walnut finished with transparent paint. The head of the poles is coated with a blue protective paint. The system is completed by two storage compartments that feature sliding doors with integrated handle. The library is shipped semi assembled. Design by Accardi Buccheri for Medulum Libreria costituita da pali continui a sezione circolare in legno massello. Ripiani impiallacciati con bordatura in massello. Il tutto realizzato in noce Canaletto finito con vernice trasparente. La testa...
Wood, Walnut
Nendo Drop Two-Shelf Bookcase
By Cappellini, Nendo
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Drop two-shelf bookcase Designed by Nendo for Cappellini Measure: 21.5" W x 12.5" D x 27.75" H The two-shelf bookcase was first pres...
Metal
Nendo Drop Bookcase with Five Shelves
By Cappellini, Nendo
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Drop five-shelf bookcase Designed by Nendo for Cappellini Measures: 21.5" W x 12.5" D x 68.25" H. The five-shelf bookcase was first presented as a part of Nendo's 'dancing squares' ...
Metal