CULTIVATING
CREATIVITY
Architecting timeless identities.
Empowering global resonance.
OUR MISSION
We operate at the intersection of brand strategy and pure creative direction. By uniting global design visionaries, we transcend local identity to be enduring and broader reaching, igniting business growth on a mission transforming brands to be timeless and experiential icons.
OUR BUSINESS
Global Branding
We are passionate to elevate branding for corporations and city communities through creative direction, media connections, and exhibition planning. We enjoy curating and bringing brands to a global stage through select international exhibitions and special events. Our holistic approach to branding includes brand identity and media strategy.
Business Innovation Strategy
We bring our experience with both corporate and entrepreneurial business development uplifting companies expanding globally. Together with a core group of strategic partners we have been empowering companies seeking a transformation and growth trajectory. Scaling and positioning from local to global expansion is our expertise.
Modular Architecture Design
We redefine modular architecture by merging accessible luxury partnering with top designers for locally relevant design and construction innovation. Our design approach minimizes waste, construction, time, and costs, while offering ultimate future relocation flexibility, planet-positive sustainable practices, and the potential to realize social impact.
Product Design
We build on over 20 years of experience designing ourselves and supporting others to thoughtfully and rapidly prototype furniture and products. Our development process is holistic and a hands on from ideation and business planning to prototyping and exhibiting and release. Through our diverse global network, we foster partnerships with the top design talents, tailoring design to business strategy.
Graphic Design
As part of our global branding, we craft impactful visual touchpoints across print and digital media. Our support includes bespoke event invitations, event-wear flyers, posters, and brand catalogues, alongside carefully planned website and media design direction to ensure a cohesive brand identity.
Spatial Design and Curation
We approach spatial design as an experiential narrative. Our expertise spans exhibition design and curation, retail and hospitality interior planning, and custom furniture development. Leveraging deep experience in retail concepts, we transform physical environments into engaging story-driven spaces.
ABOUT US
Based in New York and Tokyo. Rooted in East-West design thinking.
We build on Yuichiro’s entrepreneurial journey founding and globalizing the design driven furniture brand Stellar Works, and also leverage our roles scaling global mass and luxury brands. As partners, we enable bold corporate evolution through branding, product design, and immersive experiences. Our work is defined by harmonious and impactful collaboration.
SELECT WORKS
NORITAKE DESIGN
COLLECTION
MODULAR SURF HOTEL
FUKUI BRANDING
WACASA BRANDING
Project Highlight
Branding For Fukui Prefectural Government
Commissioned by the Fukui Prefectural Government, a special first edition Magalog Brandbook has been researched and now published on Fukui as being a new place to visit. A collaboration with Danielle Demetriou, River Inc, and photographer Stefan Dotter.
This year, visitors to Japan exceeded all expectations and ‘overtourism’ was a major issue. The challenge has been that many global visitors always head to the same places which include in particular Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka.
There is no question that Japan will prove again to be a popular destination, many research their own journeys or work with specialist travel agencies, who again send them to the same places. As ’niche cultural and more rural’ locations are on the rise, however the information on where to go is missing.
Fukui delivers a unique experience from visiting the legendary wash paper making, to exploring a hub for Sake, seeing the impressive crafts, being away from the masses in nature and in winter eating the unique snow crabs.
Project Highlight
Noritake Design Collection
Launched in 2025, the Noritake Design Collection is a strategic platform marking a transformative moment for the heritage brand. As Chief Creative Director, Yuichiro Hori invites leading contemporary creatives to explore and reimagine porcelain through a fresh lens, bringing together Noritake’s incomparable technical expertise. This strategic platform is a unique partnership of visionary minds. Designers Yabu Pushelberg, Faye Toogood, Marc Newson, AB Concept, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, and AMDL Circle with Michele De Lucchi have created unique collections, and future collections will continue to introduce new perspectives and expand the boundaries of contemporary design.
Hori & Co. has holistically lead this global brand transformation including product design, development, all creative and brand identity direction, media engagement, exhibition design, curation, project management, and sales strategy.
Project Highlight
Imperial Peacock Collection
Designed by HORI & CO. collaborating together with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation for the Noritake Design Collection, the Imperial Peacock Collection, is a homage to Frank Lloyd Wright’s unique patterns deconstructed from his iconic Peacock artwork for the Imperial Hotel. The peafowl, with its vibrant plumage, has long been depicted in Japanese aesthetics as a symbol of the elegance of nature. The peacock’s elegance was woven into many details of the hotel, from hand carvings in Oya stone to rugs and furniture to intricate tapestries. Frank Lloyd Wright once described the peacock as “a spiritual element” introduced to Earth for the sheer “love of beauty.” Its grace and resilience captivated him—a beauty that, even when domesticated, endures. This spirit of beauty became a guiding inspiration for Wright’s 1915 design of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.
The collection launched with a 6 piece plate set stacking as a sculptural element,and has evolved to include a large platter, a tea set, and a flower vase.
OUR TEAM
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Yuichiro Hori
FOUNDER｜CEO
As founder of the global furniture brand Stellar Works, Yuichiro grew the company from its inception as a specialized furniture design atelier, into an international organization with more than 400 employees and projects across the globe. His hands-on approach to teamwork including collaborations with luxury hotels, luxury retail, and world class designers has solidified his position as a creative and strategic leader in the global design and hospitality community.
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Amy Washio
MANAGING PARTNER
An agile leader harnessing the talents of diverse creative teams to develop future forward concepts, products, and built spaces, Amy has enjoyed empowering both luxury and mass market businesses to evolve and scale responsibly. Formally as Starbucks China`s Concepts Director, and as head of Cartier Japan’s planning and construction, Amy led strategy and rapid growth full process from ideation, to prototyping to rollout.
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Judy Dobias
BRAND STRATEGIST
Judy Dobias has a career in design communications spanning 25 years. She founded her own agency, Camron, which embraced the world of design. The company soon became recognized as the leading firm globally. The London base expanded to the US where the client portfolio became more than design brands, and drew attention to some of the leading companies from Pepsi, McKinsey to Airbnb. This was the first time a communications agency conveyed that using design was integral to the success of a business.
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Nori Muramatsu
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Nori brings diverse experience in the fashion and luxury sector, including his former role as a lead creative buyer for United Arrows. He is specializing in global brand strategy and international business development. He connects Japanese craftsmanship, culture, and innovation with luxury markets worldwide, creating strategic partnerships across Japan, Europe, and beyond through cross-border collaboration.
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Catherine Shaw
STORYTELLER | WRITER
Catherine Shaw is a leading writer, editor, specialising in architecture and design. She has written and contributed to over ten books, including award-winning monographs on art collector and designer Alan Chan. She also brings experience as an international design consultant with Master’s degrees in urban and environmental planning.
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Yang Yang
VISUAL DESIGNER
Yang Yang is an artist and designer who graduated from the University of the Arts London and the Royal College of Art. She works as an independent creator, dedicating herself to painting practice while expanding her work to graphic and web design. Through her work, she helps brands and businesses transform information and ideas into visual experiences.
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Yoshihito Iwasaki
DIRECTOR OF ARCHITECTURE
Yoshihito Iwasaki is an architect based in Tokyo. After graduating from the University of Tokyo and working at Hara Hiroshi ‘s Atelier Phi, he established his own practice with Satoko Hiraoka building on their shared experience leading the design and construction of diverse projects from schools to stadiums to residences. He aims to create spaces that offer new experiences for people through designs that are both contemporary and timeless.
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Satoko Hiraoka
DIRECTOR OF ARCHITECTURE
Satoko Hiraoka is an architect based in Tokyo. She began her professional architectural journey at Hiroshi Hara’s Atelier Phi where she led unique projects of various scales and typologies. After establishing a practice with Yoshihito Iwasaki, she has focused on bespoke residential design, creating spaces where architectural beauty and the comfort of the residents coexist.
Collaborators and Clients
