Åke Axelsson × Shinichiro Ogata ​

NOMAD × OGATA Special Edition

OGATA presents an exclusive special edition of the NOMAD furniture collection,
designed by Swedish master Åke Axelsson.

A leading figure in Swedish design, Åke Axelsson has worked since 1957 for nearly seven decades shaping Swedish public interiors—from libraries to the Parliament—through furniture that reflects the country’s democratic design ideals: simplicity, accessibility, and sustainability. Long regarded in Sweden as the grandfather of furniture design, his influence has been quietly foundational.


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Åke : I wanted to make the best chair — the best portable chair. I started with the NOMAD chair back in the 1970s, when people began seriously discussing ecology and the environment in the world. I’ve always tried to work in every context with ecology as the most important thing we have to protect. When I was a young designer, I began working with ecology as the most important responsibility we have. The name NOMAD is important in Sweden. A nomad is a mobile lifestyle. All environments originate from a mobile environment. I want my furniture to adapt to its surroundings — both functionally and morally.

Åke Axelsson’s studio, near Stockholm


With NOMAD, Axelsson proposes a series of lightweight, modular chairs, stools, and tables in wood and fabric. Designed for mobility, the stools and tables fold instantly, while the chairs can be assembled and disassembled with ease—combining functional clarity with refined construction. This special edition, reimagined by Shinichiro Ogata as an homage to Axelsson’s work, features original upholstery in khaki, along with a transport strap (sold separately) that allows several pieces to be carried together. Fabricated in Japan since 2025, NOMAD finds new resonance within the Japanese culture of furniture, characterized by its mobility and a fluid relationship between inside and outside.

Ogata : My own concept is exactly the same. I think about how to pass Japanese traditions on to future generations, or how to make things in a way that takes the global environment into account. Humans have made so many things, and in doing so have even destroyed the environment. I started Ogata because I wanted people everywhere to keep making and living while protecting the environment for the long term. I really feel Åke has the same way of thinking. Japan and Scandinavia are quite similar in that sense. I think both cultures have coexisted with nature, respecting it, and living together with it. Japan also has that.
Åke: I’ve approached the Japanese environment with great respect. In many ways, I’ve found it relates to the older Scandinavian and Swedish environment — the simplicity and usability. I feel there’s a kinship between the Japanese environment and the Scandinavian one I grew up in, with function as the most important quality.

The connection between Swedish and Japanese design lies in a common respect for nature, simplicity, and craft. Axelsson once noted that the Japanese landscape reminded him of his childhood village in Småland—reflecting how both cultures integrate living spaces with their environment. NOMAD brings these two approaches together through quiet, functional design.

Ogata : I think a lot about how to protect Japanese culture within the country. Unlike Åke, I’m not a craftsman. But as a designer, I want to protect craftsmen and help them pass their work on to future generations over a long time — that’s why I do Ogata. One thing I can do is create educational programs or curriculums — because without something like a school format, traditions won’t survive. In Japan, especially in crafts, we have kuden — oral transmission — rather than manuals. You learn by imitating, by watching, by practicing over and over. But because of that, many traditions in crafts aren’t being passed on well. I feel it’s my job to make sure they are. For that, I think it’s necessary to put it into a tangible form, into words — to verbalize it.

Ogata : Åke, as someone who has worked as a craftsman your whole life, how do you think your work should be passed on to the next generation?

  Åke : I think — and I try to work from the idea — that this is the most important thing we have to do: to pass on the best of the environment we have. And I feel concerned today that the environment is not getting enough attention around the world. It’s a dangerous development. And it’s in that context that I work with my furniture — NOMAD is an important part of that, something important to pass on.

Ogata : Nature… people have lived according to their own convenience, and so nature has been destroyed. Even here in Sweden, the temperature is high now. The climate is strange all over the world. It’s basically the result — or punishment — for humans making so many things, throwing them away, and polluting the environment in capitalism. Even so, I think that while destroyed nature won’t return, we still need to live as humans once did — coexisting with nature, respecting it. That’s where my concept lies. And I think Åke feels something similar.

Åke : I feel concerned that we are not protecting the environment in the best way. I do feel concern for the future, for the environment we have.What I mean is that those of us working in the environment now have an enormous responsibility for the future.

Ogata : Still, Åke’s work has truly shaped nature into forms that allow humans and nature to coexist. I respect that greatly. And just being able to have this conversation here in your workshop is an honor. Thank you.

  Åke : Thank you.

ÅKE AXELSSON

Åke Axelsson (b. 1932) is a Swedish interior architect and furniture designer. Born on a small farm in southern Sweden, he trained as a cabinet-maker at Visby Vocational College (1949–1951) before studying interior and furniture design at Konstfack in Stockholm (1952–1957). He has collaborated widely, including an architectural practice with Erik Karlström (1961–1967), and has maintained his own workshop in Vaxholm and later Engarn since 1967. Recognized as a pillar of Swedish design, Axelsson has created more than 200 chair models and numerous interiors for leading public institutions including libraries, restaurants, and museums. Major projects include the Riksdag Library in Stockholm (1992), the Royal Anniversary Room at the Royal Palace (1995), and the ECOSOC Meeting Hall at the United Nations Headquarters in New York (2003). He is also an honorary professor at Konstfack, and since 2003 he has been a partner at Gärsnäs AB, where he remains active today.

SHINICHIRO OGATA

Ogata is a designer and the founder of SIMPLICITY Co. He lives and works in Tokyo and Paris. Born in Nagasaki Prefecture, he founded SIMPLICITY in 1998, and aspires to establish a contemporary way of being inspired by the culture and traditions of Japan. In Japan, Ogata has developed his own specialized establishments, including tea houses, restaurants, tea and confectionary brands and a collection of craft products. In addition to his own company’s brands, Ogata is responsible for the design and direction of a wide range of projects in architectural, interior, product, graphic, and packaging design. He founded OGATA in 2020 to share the fruits of his work with a wide international community.

photo credit: Nicolas Fabre

Products of the NOMAD × OGATA Special Edition