Founded in Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture in 1940, Karimoku Furniture is Japan's leading wooden furniture manufacturer in terms of quality and technology.

While furniture and bicycles might not be an obvious pairing for a collaboration, the brands share a passion for creating products that live with customers, often over a long period, and what sparked the conversation were the innocuous words "why don't you start something interesting together?"

The first initiative was the creation of a concept bicycle with the aim of bringing together different materials from different environments. The warmth and beauty of wood has been used on the bicycle at touch points like the handlebar and saddle, whilst a wooden bike stand helps to make the bicycle feel more at home and less like an unwelcome guest, as is often the case when you bring your bike inside.

Originally shown for the launch of the "Karimoku Commons Tokyo" showroom in Nishi-Azabu, the tokyobike + karimoku bike is travelling to London and will be on display at tokyobike Shoreditch later in the year, alongside some selected Karimoku furniture designs.