A Different Familiar
An Exhibition of the Hender Scheme + Artek Collection
October 17 – 25, 2026
We are pleased to present A Different Familiar, an exhibition at Nalata Nalata featuring the new collection by Artek and Hender Scheme. The collaboration brings Hender Scheme’s distinctive approach to natural vegetan leather to some of Alvar Aalto’s most recognizable designs, finding unexpected connections between two very different design traditions.
Exhibition Dates:
October 17 – October 25, 2026 (Wednesdays, Fridays-Sundays)
Opening Reception:
Saturday, October 17, 2:00-5:00PM
Ryo Kashiwazaki of Hender Scheme will be present.
Please RSVP here as space is limited.
Hender Scheme has long found ways into familiar objects through material and construction. The difference often comes from putting familiar things into relationships we don’t expect. Artek makes this especially interesting. Alvar Aalto’s bent birch furniture, made in Finland, has become part of everyday life, whether we encounter it in a home, a restaurant or somewhere entirely unexpected.
Hender Scheme takes that familiarity and shifts it. Across the collection, vegetable-tanned leather appears where we might expect another material, while the language of footwear finds its way onto furniture. Both Stool 60 and Table 90C are given leather shoes. A shoe is familiar. A stool is familiar. A shoe on a stool is something else. The original forms remain unmistakably Artek, but our experience of them changes.
The collection also includes Alvar Aalto’s A330S Golden Bell pendant, a design we’ve always admired for its simple, sculptural form. Here, Hender Scheme introduces leather to an object usually associated with metal. It’s a different application of the material than we see in the furniture, and one that feels especially interesting in a light fixture.
There’s a playfulness to the collection that extends beyond the furniture and lighting. We particularly like the smaller pieces—the clock, coasters and key holders—which borrow from the curves and shapes of Aalto’s furniture. It’s enjoyable to see details usually associated with much larger objects find their way into things we can hold in our hands.
And they keep changing. Birch and leather age at their own pace, taking on color, wear and patina according to where they are and how they are used. Over time, two identical pieces will no longer look quite the same.
Alongside the Artek and Hender Scheme collection, the showcase will also feature ceramics from a collaboration between NOTA&design and Hender Scheme, as well as a special collection of leather-wrapped stones exclusively created for this exhibition. Having represented Hender Scheme’s collections for many years, we have always been drawn to this way of looking at the ordinary and finding another possibility within it. A Different Familiar, our second exhibition with Hender Scheme, looks at that idea through collaboration, material and what happens to an object once it becomes part of everyday life.