Mibo Milford
A warm new chapter for Mibo on the North Shore.
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American cherry, spotted gum, textured paint, stainless steel
2025
65m2
Wavestone Projects
Studio Tatami
Mibo’s first North Shore store recently completed in Milford. The site was unlike the previous two stores, moving away from brand new concrete shells to an existing restaurant site built in the 1950s.
An oversized central counter strategically showcases Mibo’s daily offering, allowing customers to view and decide on food on the way to the till, to avoid congestion at the entrance.
Details throughout the interior and exterior reference the mid-century heritage of this block of shops.
We reconstructed the shop front, building in bench seating to both sides to blur the line between indoors and out.
Positioned on the shady side of the street, we wanted to make every effort to bring a sense of warmth to every aspect of the interior, adopting 3 principles of mid century design to tie into the buildings heritage: simplicity, functionality and minimalism.
We were commissioned to design custom furniture for Mibo’s Milford store. To make something unique to match the unique features of the existing site and our design direction. Something to complete the experience of eating at Mibo.
We design a terraced edged dining table in American cherry with linoleum inlay to reference the layering of Mibo’s pastry, additionally featuring a bevelled 45˚ cut to each corner, referencing the shopfront line.
In the winter of 2025 we travelled to Kyoto with our client to meet matcha growers, and to visit Kojima Shoten, Japanese chochin (lantern) makers who’s family has been making these beautiful pieces since the Edo period 1789-1801
The chochin are made using individual rings of bamboo, rather than a more typical spiral, which gives the finished product a heavily textural, layered finished appearance, a powerful comparison to Mibo’s approach to their pastry.
We commissioned Kojima Shoten to produce this centre piece for Mibo Milford
Emma in Kyoto at Kojima Shoten with small chochin molds from the 1700s
For the chairs we opted for an armchair, as this is a style not typically utilized in modern cafes, so it instantly catches your eye.
Constructed in solid American cherry the arm chair has fine details in the joins and the key bevelled edge to the front of the arms.
The directors chair style fabric back offers a sense of softness amidst the hard angles and lines.
