Creating beautiful work alone cannot sustain furniture-producing regions. Design means more than creating form—it expresses values and connects people with industry. This talk session uses this jumping-off point to allow furniture makers in Asahikawa to honestly discuss their aesthetic values and the realities of business. Creating furniture that can be used for a long time represents both sincerity in craftsmanship and the core of a business that supports a sustainable production region. This session goes beyond design as mere form-making and focuses on “design as strategy,” exploring in depth each manufacturer’s philosophy of beauty, as well as the practices and challenges involved in transforming that philosophy into industrial strength.