Koji Sakai, director of rede+ReDesign Project, created SUKI+Ma by using scrap wood to demonstrate the value of salvaging wood once considered a waste. And the covering is Japanese washi paper.

Shinya Nakao, Managing Director for Daiko Electric Co., Ltd., gave a simple wooden folding chair a golden coat which defies the inherent nature of the wood and titled it Toyotomi G.

Kaoru Okeya of Blanc Plan LLC created Three Nested Benches which can be transformed back to accent tables and thus serve more than one purpose.

Hitomi Fujimoto, floral designer of Acorns Flower Design Studio, embodies the profession in Nature and HAPPY using scrap wood wrapped in fabric with a garden growing through it.

Midori Nakamura, a craft specialist, used a chair her mother had for many years and was ready to throw away. She revived it with a silver leaf frame and new upholstery for Mother’s Memory Chair.

Naoko Tsuchiya, interior designer with Bikentec Co. Ltd., took a simple stool previously used by her children and transformed with with Bambi-like faux fur and slubby yarn on the legs. When someone sits on it, a little tail appears.

Maki Miyata, founder of Atelier Joie, created Elegant Chabako (Tea Box) using a kimono that was too small to wear and added legs to the box to create a worthy seat.

Hideki Nishigaki, decorator, created Nest Chair from an original woven wood frame to something soft and cozy, a true nest. This chair won the 2013 People’s Choice award at the Osaka exhibition.

Masayo Andou, a product designer of StudioMA, took an old dining chair with bright blue paint on the frame, recycled material in a patchwork on the seat, and yarn wound around the legs for more texture calling it Spool Kitsch Chair.

Masahiro Yamauchi, an industrial designer with Nine Per One, created the See and Feel Seat which represents the basic way a child might describe a three dimensional drawing.

Yoko Sakaguchi and Yukari Kato, of interior design firm Y’s Hands, took a metal framed child’s chair to create Angel’s Swings with fluffy feather filling to make it angel soft, a perfect place to treasure and cuddle a little one.

Tsubasa Kono of Gallery Sojiro created Chair to Reflect the Human Body as a way to show the tension and physicality of the body when sitting in a chair.

Makiko Issha, interior decorator, created Re which is an old folding chair painted white and then covered with a gauzy slip cover of optical light fiber that changes color to reflect her fascination with light.

Nobuyuki Masahara, interior designer, created Reborn by taking an old chair frame and making this whimsical transformation.

Akiko Yamazaki, workroom director of Risa Braire Co., Ltd., used a patchwork of left over fabrics to upholster this stool and applied gold leaf to two legs for a more contemporary look and completed the look with nailhead trim.

Yasue Ishikawa, managing director of Risa Braire Co., Ltd., used wood left from her house renovation to create the seat base and branches from a nearby park after a typhoon to create Accessory Stand Chair.

Yasue Ishikawa, Akiko Yamazaki, and Midori Sugaya are sure that two heads must be better than one! This fantasy chair was created by Nobuyuki Masahara.

The Japan Chapter holds their Take a Seat kick-off party.

Here is a sample of some of the chairs on display at the 2013 Take a Seat exhibition in Osaka, Japan.

The Sangetsu showroom in Osaka was host to the 2013 Take a Seat exhibition for the Japan chapter.

IFDA member Hitomi Fujimoto used her florist skills to create this garden stool for the 2013 exhibition in Osaka, Japan

Colorful designer Hideki Nishigaki won the People’s Choice award at the 2013 Japan Take a Seat exhibition for his egg chair.

Participants in the 2013 Japan Take a Seat exhibition learned silver-leafing techniques and reupholstery as part of their preparation.

Something old can become shiny and new!

The Sangetsu showroom in Osaka, Japan was the site of the 2013 IFDA Take a Seat exhibition.

The IFDA Japan chapter received local press coverage following the 2013 Take a Seat exhibition in Osaka, Japan.

The Asahi newspaper in Osaka, with a daily circulation of 6 million, wrote a preview article about Take a Seat and included photos of chairs from all three locations to emphasize the international aspect of the show and the fundraising efforts for relief to victims of the Japan Tsunami and Hurricane Sandy in the eastern seaboard of the United States.