Rio Kobayashi is a maker and designer based in London. His practice unites creative thinking with excellence in handcraft.

Kobayashi was born and raised in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan in a family of ceramic artisans. A creative mind from the start, he made his first piece of furniture at an early age. At eighteen, he left Japan for Austria, where he developed and honed his skills in carpentry over the course of a three-year apprenticeship in traditional cabinet making.

From 2011, he gained experience working with international studios and artists in Milan, Tokyo, Paris and Berlin, where he started his own business two years later. In 2017, Kobayashi set up his own workshop in East London. He has since exhibited under his own name at the London Design Festival, Milan Design Week, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. His works have been included in group shows at several galleries in Europe.

The breadth of Kobayashi’s work is broad, yet precise in its execution. His pieces initiate playful dialogues between the traditional crafts of his native Japan, which remain a strong influence throughout his work, and the limitless creative freedoms of the contemporary design world he inhabits.

Having been raised by Japanese and Austrian-Italian parents and living in different countries, he has always belonged both to many places and to none. With attention, humour, and a deep understanding of the elements of the cultures that surround him, Kobayashi positions himself in the world by making pieces that explore his identity and heritage.

EXHIBITIONS

House of swizerand, Milan design Week (IT) 2025 • Blunk space, California, (US) 2025 • Blunk space, Design Miami, (US) 2024 • Kate Macgarry, (UK) 2024 • Off the Shelf Pavilion, Olympia (UK) 2024 • Grazie Enzo, Design Museum, (UK) 2024 • Dwellings, South London Gallery, (UK) 2024 • Wallpaper Class of 24, Triennale Milano, (IT) 2024 • Lost and Found Yōkai, Young V&A, (UK) 2024 • 100 Hooks, Blunk space, point Reyes, California, (US) 2023 • Koivu Embroidered, Milan, (IT) 2023 • TOKYO ART INTERSECTION Vol.3, Tokyo midtown yaesu (JP) 2023 • Solo Exhibition MANUS MANUM LAVAT, Cromwell place (UK) 2023 • Dolce & Gabbana Casa, GenD, Milan design week (IT) 2023 • Alcova for Barbini specci Veneziani, Milan design week (IT) 2023 • R for Repair, Victoria and Albert Museum, (UK) 2022 • Barbini specci Veneziani, Italian glass week, (IT) 2022 • Vienna design week, (AT) 2022 • Fels Gallery, London, (UK) 2022 • Supersalone, Milan Design Week, (IT) 2021 • Alcova for Gilda Editions, Milan Design Week, (IT) 2021 • Local Ware – Cooking Edition, Jogging, Marseille, (FR) 2021 • Kendall Koppe Gallery, Frieze London, (UK) 2021 • Muji Community Market, MUJI, Zurich (CH) 2020 • Odds, TOMA Project Space, Southend-on-Sea, (UK) 2019 • Masters of Disguise, SEEDS, London Design Festival, (UK) 2019 • Momosan Shop, London, (UK) 2018 • U-JOINTS, PlusDesign Gallery, Milan Design Week, (IT) 2018 • Mint, London, (UK) 2018 • London Design Fair, London Design Festival, (UK) 2017.

PRESS

Financial times, The New York Times, HTSI, Wallpaper*, The Guardian, Monocle, World of interiors, Homes&Gardens, Elle Decoration, Design Milk, Sight unseen, ICON, Port Magazine, Hypebeast, Corriere Della Sera Living, Disegno, Domus, Dezeen, Forbes and many more.

RECOGNITION

Best Curio Presentation Design Miami, 2024
Dezeen Award Judge, 2024
Dezeen Award emerging designer of the year, nomination, 2023
Design Museum Ralf salzmann prize, nomination, 2023

Photography:
Irene Yamaguchi and James Harris

Design:
Parabol Studio