Museums collect Shin & Tomoko Azumi on both sides

Work signed Shin & Tomoko Azumi is held in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Stedelijk Museum in the Netherlands — unusual for designers whose best-known object is a production stool. Born in Kobe in 1965 and in Hiroshima in 1966, both graduated from the Royal College of Art and built the AZUMI signature in London; their clients range from Magis and Desalto to Fredericia and Swarovski. Their awards include the Blueprint 100% Design Award and the FX International Design Award for product of the year.

For Lapalma the pair drew LEM in 2000, a stool named after the lunar module. La Mercanti brings it to American offices where a break area has to look considered, not improvised.