Furniture Designer of the Year 2026: Ko Júbilo -

When he was a child, Ko Júbilo used to play on the ground with wooden train sets that his grandfather would make with his own hands. When Júbilo got older, those same hands built the wooden desks he and his siblings would use for drawing and homework.

TURNED TABLE: In an early iteration of the Frames coffee table, Júbilo turned a $5 garage-sale glass top into a small coffee table by resting it on the modular Frames system. Image courtesy of Ko Júbilo.

“He designed these amazing, intricate, highly detailed train sets in his workshop,” Júbilo reminisces. “And then he built each one of us desks for school, so when we came home, we had a place to study and draw.”

That love for design was passed on to Júbilo’s father, an architect who would often bring his son on site visits to admire the handiwork that went into designing spaces for other people. It seems only fitting, then, that Júbilo himself developed the same passion, too.

“I didn’t really realize that all that upbringing was actually affecting what my interests were,” he says, reflecting on his own design journey. “I definitely think those experiences contributed to the idea that we can make things if we put our mind and abilities to it.”

LIVING REFRAMED: Light and structurally flexible, Frames allows people to modify the piece as their rooms and needs change, instead of discarding and rebuying furniture. Image courtesy of Ko Júbilo.

While Júbilo credits his family for helping him with his tactile skills, he also had an affinity for hands-on work himself, spending his childhood building skateboard ramps, bows and arrows, slingshots and wooden boats, and later studying industrial design at Emily Carr University. Eventually, Júbilo landed at renowned U.K. studio Barber Osgerby, becoming part of the team that designed the Olympic torch for the London 2012 Games.

Industrial design took a foothold in his designs—window displays, product work and that aforementioned torch—a body of work and experience that saw him named our Industrial Designer of the Year in 2018.

Lately, however, he’s moved into furniture design, with a focus on designs that are meant to solve everyday problems. Vessel, for example, was created as a solution for a very specific issue: a client needed storage that would fit a roughly 10-foot-wide wall perfectly, without overwhelming the room, and that could showcase their wine collection.

Júbilo softened the design of the resulting solid-wood credenza so that it “almost melted into the space,” rounding the edges and adding a subtle, angled kick at the base to avoid harsh shadows. Inside, removable trays with a gentle carved wave pattern cradle wine bottles while a similar fluting on the door fronts creates a tactile grip in place of handles.

BUILT TO HOLD: Vessel is a solid-wood storage credenza designed around a client’s wine collection, with removable carved trays to cradle bottles and fluted door fronts that double as a tactile grip. Image courtesy of Ko Júbilo.

Another project, Frames, takes that idea of customization to an even more modular level. Originally designed as a partition for a shared workshop—one that could define borders in a space without closing it off—Frames is a system of angled, geometric units that can be reconfigured into room dividers, lights, side or coffee tables and more. The connectors are intentionally simple and visible, designed so the system can be taken apart and reassembled.

Frames was originally designed as a flexible partition system that could define spaces without closing them off. Its individual components can be rearranged into different configurations and functions. Image courtesy of Ko Júbilo.

“The idea is that by combining them in different ways, you can use them in different ways,” Júbilo explains. “Depending on your living experience, whether you’re moving or just changing your room for a different function, you can also change the function of that piece without having to throw it out.”

While Frames is meant to live inside a home or office, its customizability points to Júbilo’s roots as an industrial designer. Judge and fellow furniture designer Christian Woo agrees. “Ko feels more commercially driven, with a broader range of approaches and applications across his work,” he writes. “His practice speaks more to industrial design than to the traditional furniture maker model, particularly in the way he explores systems, materials and adaptability across different contexts.”

ADAPTATION: The interchangeable legs of Nest+Span allow for variability of height and footprint, giving it “nesting and spanning capabilities.” Image courtesy of Ko Júbilo.

MADE TO LAST: Merge uses a combination of lap and mortise joints, creating a robust connection designed to help the furniture stand the test of time. Image courtesy of Ko Júbilo.

The ethos that things can be made and adapted specifically for their user might also be an echo from Júbilo’s childhood. “We all had our own desks, but my brother would have his desk beside mine and we’d always compare the details between each,” he says. “They were similar, but still very different. We’d always kind of point out these details, like, ‘This is kind of cooler than yours,’ and I think it was just a fun facet that made sitting in those desks and spending those activities—whether we were drawing or doing homework—enjoyable.”

That same belief—that objects can and should be thoughtfully tailored to the people who use them—is what he now practices with his own clients, many of whom come to him by word of mouth with very specific spatial problems to solve.

“Furniture design, specifically, holds a certain area of my heart,” he says.

Ko Júbilo on Design

Photo by Evaan Kheraj.

What are you listening to right now?

These records were recently in high rotation on my hi-fi system: Boards of Canada, Inferno; Budos Band, Burnt Offering; Cymande’s self-titled album; J-Dilla, Dillatronic; Massive Attack vs Mad Professor, No Protection; Minami Deutsch, Fortune Goodies; Sinoia Caves, Beyond the Black Rainbow; Yu Su, Foundry.

What do you think is the most perfectly designed object?

Perfect is a fascinating word… I was fortunate to stumble upon a wonderful exhibit in Milano that explored the relationship between the glass bottle and cork stopper. It encompassed a curated collection of vintage wine bottles and offered an in-depth look at the evolution of such ordinary everyday objects. In highlighting historical and manufacturing considerations, it made me appreciate the evolution of aesthetics, craftsmanship and function over a significantly long span of time.

Ko’s Local Favourites

For Design Shopping

Inform in Gastown is hands down my favourite design shop. A beautiful space and tastefully curated, it’s always inspiring to see wonderful furniture, lighting, housewares and accessory products thoughtfully presented.

For Shopping Local

TV Dinner on 3rd Avenue near Burrard is a cool market café that always provides quality food products, a hit of coffee and fun neighbourhood vibes.

For a Local Getaway

I’ll hop on the Sea to Sky Highway on my motorcycle or by car and enjoy time along a sunny coast, lakeside or up on the slopes.

For an Undiscovered Gem

Look for the Ace of Suede signage on Venables Street and enter through the doors to experience Alterior. It’s full of cool brands, vintage, books and more!