Maelstrom Design · Otautahi Christchurch
Where every MahanaMade piece begins.
Maelstrom Design is the Otautahi Christchurch studio at the heart of Mahana Group — the design and prototyping practice where every piece is conceived, tested, and refined before a single production order is placed.
King of Snake restaurant, Otautahi Christchurch — joinery, furniture and interior fit-out by Maelstrom Design
Award-winning commercial interior
The studio
Maelstrom Design is an award-winning furniture design and joinery studio — the craft foundation of everything Mahana Group produces. Based in Otautahi Christchurch, it is where design thinking meets making practice, and where the standard for every MahanaMade piece is set.
What Maelstrom Design does
Design. Prototype. Prove it.
Maelstrom Design operates across three areas — commercial fit-outs, bespoke furniture, and the prototyping and design development that sits behind every MahanaMade production run. Each informs the other. The commercial work sharpens the design thinking. The prototyping rigour improves the fit-out delivery. Nothing is done in isolation.
It is a studio built on the belief that the making of a thing and the design of it are inseparable — and that this discipline is what produces furniture and spaces that endure.
Commercial fit-outs
Hospitality, retail, and corporate interiors — designed and delivered to an exacting standard. From concept through to installation.
Bespoke furniture
One-off and limited-run pieces for clients who need something the market doesn’t make. Designed and built in Otautahi Christchurch.
Design & Prototyping
The development engine behind MahanaMade — every production piece is designed, prototyped, and signed off here before manufacturing begins.
Joinery & Cabinetry
Custom joinery, cabinetry, and built-in furniture — crafted with the same standard applied to every piece that leaves the studio.
Founder
James Turner
James Turner is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most respected furniture designers and makers. His practice is rooted in a multi-generational furniture and joinery manufacturing family — a lineage that informs the depth of his craft knowledge and the consistency of his standard.
Award-winning across hospitality, retail, and residential interiors, James is known throughout the industry for work that is as considered in its design as it is precise in its execution. He founded Maelstrom Design as a vehicle for that standard — and it is this practice that forms the creative and technical backbone of Mahana Group.
Award-winning designer & maker · Multi-generational joinery family Founder, Maelstrom Design
The studio is where the standard is set. Everything that follows — the production, the delivery, the final installation — is measured against what we proved here first.
Maelstrom Design · Otautahi Christchurch
Selected projects
Hospitality · Auckland
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Custom dining furniture · 240 pieces · 2024
Hospitality · Auckland
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Custom dining furniture · 240 pieces · 2024
Hospitality · Auckland
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Custom dining furniture · 240 pieces · 2024
Work directly with Maelstrom.
For bespoke commissions, commercial fit-outs, and projects in Aotearoa New Zealand — Maelstrom Design works directly with clients, architects, and interior designers.