Stylecraft – a leader in commercial, residential, hospitality and education furniture and lighting across Australia, Singapore and beyond – are celebrating 30 years of collaboration with Spanish furniture manufacturer Akaba.  As a socially-driven company with an inherently entrepreneurial spirit, Akaba has been the perfect complement to the Stylecraft brand suite, representing a unique and memorable style of design that blends functionality and art.

Founded in 1986 by three young entrepreneurs in the Spanish city of San Sebastián, Akaba began as a collection of pieces that were an ode to Spanish design. Starting the brand at a time of cultural unrest, the founders used their furniture as a way to invite people to talk, relate and create collectively, with each piece either an instigator or facilitator for social connection. 

Over the years, Akaba has maintained their design inspired by art, but have honed in on functionality, combining unexpected shapes with simple and elegant silhouettes to create visually interesting pieces designed for people. 

Collections made for connection

On the anniversary of their 30th year together, Stylecraft and Akaba have marked the occasion with the release of two beautiful new product families. The Lur Chair by Pensi Design Studio and the Ostoa Collection by Ander Lizaso join a catalogue of iconic and archival pieces, and yet tell their own story of design inspired by nature and organic design. 

The Lur Chair features as one element in a collection of chairs characterised by its distinctive wrap-around silhouette and defined by rounded, organic outlines. Crafted from a single piece of polypropylene, Lur is almost impossibly comfortable, while different base options make it a great option for almost any setting.

Similarly, the Ostoa Collection draws its story from the natural beauty of leaves, where each piece features soft and inviting shapes to create tranquil seating areas in open and private spaces.

For Stylecraft, these new additions complement the existing range of Akaba pieces available through their showrooms. The refined and restrained profiles of all the pieces work to collectively create endless opportunities for specification and application, whether that be a workplace, home, or anywhere in between. 

The Carma Table, designed by Pensi Design Studio, perfectly captures the split between functionality and flair which is at the heart of Akaba. Across this flexible system, a spidered cast aluminium base is attached to mild steel support columns, with customisable table tops in a diverse range of sizes and profiles. Here a subtlety in design is at play, with the table legs creating a moment of finesse that doesn’t detract from the true use of the product. 

The Kabi Collection of seating works as either accompaniments to the Carma Table variations, or as pieces in their own right, distilling the same sense of curiosity that is so essential to the Akaba name. Meaning ‘nest’ in Basque language, designer Pensi Design Studio has created a range that celebrates true comfort, with a flexible seat back crafted from polypropylene shell a constant across the Kabi family. Opportunities to customise with fabric or leather upholstery can expand on the joyfulness inherent in this timeless design. 

As a new era dawns for Stylecraft and Akaba, so do more possibilities for spaces that are centered around and for the people. With a history of thoughtful design, Akaba is perhaps the perfect solution for creating and engaging as communities and groups sharing the same spaces. And with Stylecraft continuing to champion exceptional design, we can’t wait to see what Akaba has in store for us over the next 30 years