Cat Cellar and other furnya brand products are created through the collaboration of multiple experts. This time, we spoke with product designer Koichi Hirabayashi.
-Please tell us about your daily work
I work in architectural design.
-What points did you keep in mind for cats when designing the Cat Cellar?
This design is packed with everything cats love: sharpening their claws, hiding inside, relaxing on the gentle curves, and playing with their owners using toys that peek out from the tunnels.
-Please tell us about any other details you've paid particular attention to.
The soft, streamlined corrugated cardboard is designed to make it easy for cats to sharpen their claws and also to fit comfortably to their body.
The material used is reinforced cardboard, which is less likely to produce sharpening chips. The beautiful cross-section of the cardboard is also one of its charms.
-How is Nyantosu-sensei's supervision reflected in the design?
From formulating the spatial concept to determining what kind of space would be comfortable for cats, to the finest dimensional details, everything was supervised by Nyantosu-sensei to ensure that the design was cat-first.
We also had Nyantosu-sensei use the prototype several times, and we continued to adjust the design while incorporating his detailed reviews.
-What challenges did you face when designing the Cat Cellar?
There are two major ones.
The first is the design of the joint. When the top plate becomes worn after sharpening the nails, it can be removed and turned over, or replaced with the plate below. Developing this mechanism required a lot of trial and error.
The second factor was the scale of the cat. There are big cats and small cats. We created many prototypes to determine the dimensions that would be comfortable for cats with different personalities.
-Why does the Cat Cellar blend in with your interior compared to other scratching products?
In order to create a clean silhouette with three overlapping curved surfaces, the design has been adjusted to eliminate any other impressions as much as possible. The support at the bottom has been made as inconspicuous as possible, the curved surfaces have been made as thin as possible, and the paint color of the finished surface has been matched to the cardboard... All of these measures have resulted in an extremely clean design.
Combined with the earthy colours inherent in cardboard, the result is a simple and gentle design that will fit in with any space.
