Nomaki Etsu Design

Projects
Writing
Information

Email
Instagram Nomaki Etsu

born. Osaka, Japan, 1999
current. Tokyo, Japan Nomaki Etsu is a designer whose practice centers on object and furniture design, combining industrial processes with traditional handcraft techniques. His work uses furniture as a way to examine the relationship between objects, bodies, and living environments, often moving between the scales of artifact, interior, and architecture.

Nomaki has lived in Japan and China before going to the United States for his college education. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in 3D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Product Design from Parsons School of Design.

Nomaki has worked for Yuri Suzuki and Leon Ransmeier, learning from practices operating between art, design, and spatial experience. Through these roles, he has gained experience with projects spanning objects, industrial design, furniture, public art, and exhibition design.




Curricula Vitae
Education

2023-2025
Master of Fine Art, 3D Design, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA
       
2018-2023
Bachelor of Fine Art, Product Design, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY, USA



Employment

Mar 2026 - August 2026
Industrial Design Intern, Ransmeier Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA

Nov 2023 - May 2025
Wood / Metal Shop Assistant, Central Materials Lab, Cranbrook Academy of Art,
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA

Mar 2024 - Oct 2024
Public Art & Product Design Intern(Remote), Yuri Suzuki Ltd, Margate, London, UK

Aug 2021 - Oct 2021
Product Design Intern, Unicorn Design, Shanghai, China














Exhibitions, Experiences

2026
Selected Exhibitor, Up In Smoke, LICHEN, Ridgewood, New York, USA

2025
Selected Exhibitor, FURNITURE_Works About Extensions of Architecture, Manifest
Center for the Visual Arts, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

2025
Workshop Participant, Wendell Castle Workshop, Scottsville, New York, USA

2025
Selected Exhibitor, Detroit Warehouse Art & Design Fair, Detroit, Michigan, USA

2025
Invited Speaker, Product Design: Design and Innovation, Lawrence Technological
University, Detroit, Michigan, USA

2025
Selected Participant, Wanted Design / ICFF Launch Pad, New York, NY, USA

2025
Collective Exhibition, Cranbrook Graduate Degree Exhibition, Cranbrook Art Museum,
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA



Press

2026
Designer Feature: Nomaki Etsu, Goddessarts Magazine: Issue 21

2026
“Nomaki Etsu | Coffee Podium”, Art Market Magazine

2026
Nomaki Etsu on Geometry, Furniture, and the Presence of Form, Goddessarts Magazine

2026
Designer Feature: Nomaki Etsu, Divide Magazine: Issue 18

2026
Nomaki Etsu Reveals How Small Shifts in Form Can Change Design, Muse World
Awards, Grants, Fellowships

2026
Winner, Furniture Design, SIT Design Award

2026
Gold Winner, Furniture Design, MUSE Design Awards

2026
Silver Winner, Seating & Comfort Furniture, NY Product Design Award

2023 - 2025
Gilbert Fellow, Gilbert Family Foundation, Detroit, Michigan, USA

2025
Honorable Mention, Furniture Design, SIT Design Award

2025
Pioneer Prize, Furniture, International Design Pioneer Award (IDPA)

2025
Silver Winner, Seating & Comfort Furniture, NY Product Design Award

2025
Materials Award, Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, Portola Valley, CA, USA

2023
Honorable Mention, Home: Furniture, International Design Awards (IDA)



Skills

Software
Rhino, SolidWorks, Fusion360, Keyshot,  V-ray, Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign

Physical Model Making
Wood working, Metal working, Ceramics, Wood CNC, 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, Industrial design prototyping

Language
Chinese (Native proficiency), English (Professional proficiency), Japanese (Conversational proficiency)