Stellar Works
Timeless craft meets cultured hospitality
Since 2025 TC & Friends has been overseeing the artistic direction of Japanese-founded furniture brand Stellar Works. Working on brand strategy and creative direction, TC & Friends has provided a renewed focus and design ethos tailored for the global hospitality sector.
TC & Friends has updated the brand’s visual identity affirming its East-meets-West philosophy, as well as its ongoing commitment to thoughtful design, lasting craftsmanship and the creation of harmonious spaces that inspire connection and reflection.
Client
Stellar Works
Services
Artistic Direction
Brand Strategy
Visual Identity
Creative Direction
Logo Design
Set Design
Catalogue Design
Campaign Photography
In March 2026, we travelled to the Stellar Works factory in Shanghai with photographer Matthew Donaldson to shoot the latest campaign.
We wanted to champion the environment where these pieces are made, so the Stellar Works factory became the perfect backdrop for a portfolio of wide cinematic images, alongside product and elegant still-life shots. The setting brought a sense of authenticity often missing in today’s AI-obsessed society.
To celebrate the launch of Stellar Works’ 2026 collection, and our tenure as artistic director, TC & Friends produced a limited-run style book.
This book celebrated the work and care that Stellar Works put into each piece, with a natural fibre cover reflecting the horticultural element of the shoot, a hand-stitched binding celebrating the craft and process, and fold-outs unveiling the factory behind.
Alongside directing Stellar Works’ new campaigns, we also created a refined visual identity, speaking to their focus on timeless craft.
Bespoke letterforms speak to the craftsmanship of Stellar Works, with subtle flares adding elegance and character to the previously geometric (machine-age) forms. This speaks to Stellar Works’ new direction, with a focus on hospitality, care and warmth.
TC & Friends provided a comprehensive brand guide, covering all applications of the new visual identity, including printed assets, photography and physical space.
A research-led colour scheme was developed, taking inspiration from Sanzo Wada’s research into colour in Japan in the early 20th Century. Softening the logo from black into a deep Suiseki Grey gives a warmer, more comforting appearance, particularly in a digital space. Supporting this is an inviting Washi White, creating a calming and balanced palette. This embraces the new brand direction and supports the omotenashi spirit.
Reflecting the omotenashi tradition of tea ceremonies, Matcha Green adds a natural flair to the otherwise neutral palette.
To launch the new artistic direction, Stellar Works took over a space in Odd Fellow Palace during 3DaysOfDesign in Copenhagen.
The showcase, appropriately titled THOUGHT / FUL, which explored quiet luxury through a spatial experience that invited visitors to engage all five senses across two rooms, each with a distinct identity.
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