Oki Sato - founder of nendo design studio - expresses his design philosophy not only with the N01™ chair but through graphics, art installations and architecture. He was born in Toronto, Canada and later moved to Tokyo, where he took a M.A. in Architecture at Waseda University. In 2002, he founded the nendo studio and today nendo have their name on both architectural projects as well as grand furniture designs worldwide. nendo's philosophy states that, in the same way that life is full of little "!" moments - or moments of surprise and richness - so are their designs. "Nendo" means 'modelling clay' in Japanese - a term perfectly suited to the studio’s sculptural approach to design no matter the material. For their work, nendo has been awarded with Dezeen, Wallpaper and Red Rot Design Awards among many more throughout the studio's lifetime.