A Brand Built on Principles
Otelier is a play on the word Atelier. The O represents our studio's focus on sustainability and the circular economy. In the last decade, retail industries and consumers have shifted towards fast furniture, marked by low prices, poor construction, copied designs, and single usage. How might we design better products and systems? Otelier is our platform to explore that question.
Otelier is an minority and woman-owned business.
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Our Ethos
Our Story
Otelier is a furniture studio based in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 2020 by designer Yvonne Hung in San Francisco, California, our goal is to create thoughtful products in collaboration with craftsmen.
Our original studio in San Francisco focused on sustainable and high quality furniture for small homes. Having lived in cities like San Francisco, New York, London, Hong Kong, she felt that the furniture industry is not creating products that matched the changes in living spaces, lifestyles, and values of her generation. At the same time, she witnessed the industry shifting towards low quality fast furniture at the detriment of the environment.
Today, in Kyoto we work with craftsmen from all all over the world, espcially in Japan, to bring fresh perspectives to heritage crafts that use local materials. By taking a holistic and systems approach to design, manufacturing, business, and operations. Otelier hopes to craft meaningful products using a model that's good for consumers, makers, and society as a whole.
Approach to Sustainablity
Sustainability is a core pillar of our practice. Taking a holistic approach, we consider the most sustainable options for materials, manufacturing, and logistics in developing each product.
