“With ‘Blest’ our starting point was a chair construction we consider to be very Japanese: a sturdy seat that holds the main constructive strength and with the seat and back as additions. Our initial idea was to make the back in plywood – we are amazed how Ariake transformed this into a milled solid wood back attached to the seat by a finger joint – in a way they were protecting our idea against ourselves. ‘Blest’ is a Norwegian word for wind – we think of the characteristic back piece a sail or a banner waving in the wind” – Andersen & Voll