The new chair created using the Japanese charring technique.

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.

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.