Chairs & Makers – Comfort of being
Chairs & Makers is a furniture exhibition by Interior Architect and Designer Timo Mikkonen, bringing together the finest expertise in Finnish furniture design and craftsmanship at the Habitare Furniture Fair, 2–6 September 2026.
The exhibition, Comfort of Being, explores the idea of comfort through the armchair, celebrating the knowledge, traditions, and contemporary excellence of Finnish craftsmanship. It highlights how exceptional furniture emerges through close collaboration between designers, makers, and manufacturers.
The exhibition chairs have been crafted by master cabinetmakers Heikki Aska and Tommi Alatalo, with upholstery by Jari Salo and Tuija Santti of Adea Oy. The project’s key partners are Adea Oy, the Finnish Furniture Foundation, and Habitare.
The Best Chairs Are Made Together
This idea became the starting point for Chairs & Makers—a project that brings together designers, craftspeople, and manufacturers to explore furniture design, learn from one another, and create something meaningful.
The chair is one of the most demanding and fascinating objects in design: an everyday object that, at its best, seamlessly combines aesthetics, ergonomics, structure, and craftsmanship, creating something that feels self-evident—as if it had always existed.
Few great chairs are created alone. Behind every finished piece are countless conversations, sketches, experiments, and shared discoveries. This collaborative process is what makes design meaningful to me, and it forms the foundation of Chairs & Makers.
This year’s exhibition, Comfort of Being, explores the idea of comfort through the armchair. For me, comfort is about more than ergonomics or soft materials. It is also the feeling that something is simply right—that an object invites us to pause, be present, and feel at ease. The armchairs presented here explore this idea through materials, construction, proportions, and craftsmanship.
My sincere thanks go to all the makers and collaborators who made this exhibition possible. It is the result of a shared effort, and none of the chairs presented here would exist without their skill, dedication, and vision.
Interior Architect & Designer
Timo Mikkonen
Fiskars, Finland
