Sweden-based Note Design Studio has launched a new collection of chairs which utilises the traditional Japanese timber-treatment technique of shou sugi ban – the application of fire to wood to strengthen timber for architectural cladding – to achieve startling aesthetic effects.

“While investigating whether flame could be used to achieve a paint-free, stain-free black finish on their ash-wood Candid Chair, the Note team discovered that carefully applying fire could have a beautiful effect on the timber, darkening the timber while emphasising the rich texture of the grain,” says a spokesman for Note.

The new chair created using the Japanese charring technique.

For this project, Note literally set fire to its previous work. Created for Zilio A&C, the Candid Chair is a robust, minimalist and adaptable seat constructed entirely from ash wood.

The results of this process has now been launched on Note Editions, the studio’s direct-to-consumer sales platform where it showcases its in-house creative projects. There are three variants of the Shou Sugi Ban collection available, each representing a different stage in the process – the ‘before’, the ‘during’ and the ‘after’: The untreated blonde edition in plain ash; the burned edition, with a char-emphasised grain pattern; and the blackened edition, with black stained-ash legs and  a contrasting smoky-toned seat and back.