Ayako Aratani
Adjunct Faculty
Bachelor of Engineering, Chiba University, 2007; MFA, Cranbrook Academy of Art, 2016
Ayako Aratani is a furniture designer and sculptor, born and raised in Japan. Her work embraces organic irregularity and brings handmade beauty and warmth. Finding a balance between function and metaphor she explores design possibilities in 3-dimensional objects.
Professional Experience
Aratani worked for Okamura, a furniture company in Tokyo from 2007 to 2014, and for a design studio Kiki and Joost in Eindhoven, Netherlands in 2015. After graduating from Cranbrook Academy of Art she started her studio practice in 2016 and has been creating furniture pieces for clients including the Salon gallery in Boston and Wasserman Projects gallery in Detroit, as well as working for product and interior design businesses. In addition, she served as the section head of furniture in the Crafts and Material Studies department at the College for Creative Studies in 2021. She was also a guest instructor/critique for the product design department at Laurence Technology University, the Material & Color Design graduate program at CCS, and a furniture design class at Wayne State University.
Significant Publications, Presentations and Exhibitions
Publications
2021 Women in Industrial Design
2020 Architectural Digest Magazine India “Shop” for Ghost Garden shelf
2019 The Stylemate “Aratani Fay, Detroit”
2019 Alive Magazine “Power of Two”
2019 Boston Magazine “Home & Property”
2019 New England Home “Designing Woman in Scene & Heard”
2018 Dwell Magazine “Up-and-Coming Designers to Watch”
2018 Interior Design “10 Emerging Design Studios to Follow on Instagram”
2017 Azure Magazine “School’s Special Talents to Watch”
Exhibitions
2020 Never Normal Wasserman Project Gallery (Detroit, USA)
2019 Edge Walkers Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art (Harrisonburg, USA)
2019 Lawless Salon Gallery (Boston, MA)
2018 ADD Show Piers 92 & 94 (NYC, USA)
2017 Interior Design Show MTTC (Toronto, Canada)
2017 Salone Satellite Fiera Milano (Milan, Italy)
2017 ICFF Javits Center (NYC, USA)
2016 Collective Design Skylight Clarkson Square (NYC, USA)
2014 IFFT Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo, Japan)
Awards
2019 UNESCO Design City World Wide Things Collection for Click-Clock
2017 Designlines Magazine 1 of 100 Editor’s Choice for Click-Clock
2015 IF Design Award for L- table by Okamura
2014 MUJI International Design Competition Bronze prize for O-Sketch
2014 Good Design Award for Ruscello Chair by Okamura
2014 Saku City Design Award Gold prize for Library Chair
