Meet Jaime and Gala Chmea | Founders at Mokusai Studio

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaime and Gala Chmea and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaime and Gala, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
The idea that started in quarantine is a common phrase used by startups today. In the beginning, there was only the need to design a desk to use at home instead of the one we work in our office. We knew it would have a very clean design and we wanted it to not just be a desk, but to create a new space that would allow us to organize our new day to day at home. We came up with the idea to design the Fukuoka desk, and that was our starting point. When we received the finished piece of furniture from the carpenter, we were very satisfied with the result, so we began to think about producing it for our friends and family, so that they feel the same as us.

We had nothing else to work with at the time, because the situation in Argentina was very complicated. Weeks later, and with a large number of desks created, the business began to grow. We started thinking about building a furniture brand, with a furniture line. After weeks of brainstorming and a few prototypes made, Mokusai was finally released.

Mokusai Studio is the result of two sibilings, an architect and an industrial designer, working together with the same purpose, generating clear, functional and light furniture.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We are always attentive to new trends in the furniture world. We closely follow the world of furniture design fairs. That is why every time we sit down to design a piece of furniture, we think about the moment we are living in and what the current needs are. Once we know what the new piece of furniture to design will be, we think about its context of use and how we can make it as useful as possible for our user. We have the 3 laws that we have to comply: the level of usability, design and comfort. Always trying to generate warm and harmonic spaces.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In order to plan well the week-long trip in Buenos Aires, we are going to make the itinerary from Monday to Sunday.

Day 1: Downtown: We are going to visit the Plaza de Mayo, the Congress, the Florida commercial avenue and its commercial shops, the Corrientes avenue and its theaters, the Obelisco and the 9 de Julio avenue, which is the widest avenue in the world. To eat you can go to the Pizzeria El Cuartito and to spend the afternoon on the rooftop of Vuelta Abajo. To end the day in the center, you can buy tickets to go to see a play at the Colon theater.

Day 2: San Telmo, La Boca and Caminito.
Walk through these neighborhoods and get lost in their streets, visit their squares and their antique stores and their Argentine souvenir stores. There are many grill restaurants and they are all good. You will eat very good meat in Argentina.

Day 3: Puerto Madero and the ecological reserve.
Walk through all the docks of Puerto Madero and pass through the bridge of the woman, which is the bridge that was created to remember the Argentine Tango. Eat a good pasta in Sottovoce, then an ice cream at Freddo and continue on the way to the ecological reserve. In the evening you can go to the Million bar.

Day 4: Palermo
Visit the lakes of Palermo, Rosedal, have lunch on the Paseo la Infanta, MOOI or Le Pain Quotidien. Continue on your way to Palermo Soho and walk through its streets and visit their shops. Sit down for dinner or drinks at the hidden Frank´s bar.

Day 5: Recoleta
Recoleta cemetery, Plaza Francia and its fair, have lunch in the Recova and continue to the National Museum of Fine Arts and then to the Malba. And the Jardín Japones. Ending the day with a delicious dinner in Kansas.

Day 6: San Isidro and Tigre.
Visit the port of San Isidro and the Peru Beach and have lunch in Malvón. Then continue to the fruit port in El Tigre and end the day with a coffee in the bars on the coast.

Day 7: Belgrano and Vial Costero.
Get to know the Chinatown, the Plaza de Barrancas de Belgrano and continue to the Vial Costero in olivos and eat at Pepino at the Libertador Avenue in Martínez.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Credits to our friends and family and to those who were our first clients.

Website: https://mokusai.com.ar

Instagram: @mokusaiestudio

Facebook: Mokusai Estudio