London-based Italian architectural design studio, SABI by Sabina Blasiotti, has envisioned a collection of living room furniture called Characters. The collection is informed by Japanese calligraphy, but each piece possesses its own expressional character.

The Characters collection consists of a family of chairs, a table, a coffee table, a cupboard, a bookshelf, a sofa, mirrors, lamps, picture frames, and vases. Each piece is crafted from carved and burnt cedar wood, except for the lamps and the mirror, which include additional metals for the movable lamps’ heads and the mirror finish.

The sculpted cedar wood is burnt on the surface to obtain a superficial layer of carbon that allows for more sustainable preservation of the timber when compared to wood oils and paints. Furthermore, the charred finish provides the furniture with a black look, reminiscent of the black ink characters of calligraphy.

Characters is intended to address the self-expression of skilled workers, providing an opportunity to create bespoke sculptures with fluid execution and wood carving tools. In return, each piece of furniture allows its maker's temperament and confidence to be visibly expressed in their work.

Sabina describes the living room collection as well-rounded and multifaceted, suiting a range of environments from private living rooms to retail, office spaces, and hospitality premises. Each “character” is intended to stand alone, as well as to be combined with other collections’ pieces to create larger spatial compositions.

“The embodiment of self-expression in design and architecture is very important to me,” said the creator, Sabina Blasiotti. “I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese calligraphy as an exhibition of the calligrapher at a moment of time producing artistic pieces that look alive. Likewise, I conceived the Characters collection as a personal expression at a moment in time, with each piece of furniture designed after a unique series of quick sketches that haven't been further edited or corrected. With this method, I wanted the furniture to showcase personality, as well as imperfections, and to bring life and expression inside living spaces. As a result, Characters seem to have their own conscious life, being familiar to me, but also strangers. They keep changing and revealing ineffable silhouettes as you move and rotate around them, and they are unpredictable as they play with light and shadows through the days and through the seasons.”