TANKA
A distinctly Japanese shelf conceived by Gabriel Tan, a designer drawing wide attention in the world of product design. True to his own words― "I focused on proportion and restraint, creating a good host for one's most personal things" ―each part has been finely crafted, completing a refined shelving piece for living alongside the things you love.
Tan drew his motif from the hardcover book, translating its geometric form into the shelf's frame. Each shelf board is finished with veneer edging on all four sides, achieving an expression nearly indistinguishable from solid wood. The front edge takes the sharp profile of a book's foredge, while the back recreates the curve of a spine, giving the whole shelf a complex, beautiful play of shadow. The evenly spaced dividers are shaped to blend in once books are placed against them, and combined with horizontal dividers, they invite a wide variety of arrangements and displays.
Tan drew his motif from the hardcover book, translating its geometric form into the shelf's frame. Each shelf board is finished with veneer edging on all four sides, achieving an expression nearly indistinguishable from solid wood. The front edge takes the sharp profile of a book's foredge, while the back recreates the curve of a spine, giving the whole shelf a complex, beautiful play of shadow. The evenly spaced dividers are shaped to blend in once books are placed against them, and combined with horizontal dividers, they invite a wide variety of arrangements and displays.
Shelf 150-3
Japanese Ash NF
Japanese Ash NF
Designer
Gabriel Tan
Gabriel Tan (b. 1982, Singapore) is a furniture and product designer based between Singapore and Porto, Portugal. He came to design via an unorthodox path, discovering it through industrial design books at a public library while training as a naval combat officer. After co-founding the international design collective Outofstock, he established his independent practice, Gabriel Tan Studio, in 2016. Through the subtle synthesis of Asian and European influences, his work reinterprets tradition, craft, and technology in a sustainable, socially conscious way. He currently provides designs for global brands and also serves as creative director of a Japanese furniture brand. In 2025, he received Singapore's President's Design Award for Designer of the Year, the nation's highest design honour.
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