Spoon & Tamago

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Wire Works by Masao Seki

“Round Town” | click images to enlarge

Five From The Ground is a gorgeous little antiques shop located in Kamakura. From old coffee mills and french blackboards to 8 mm film reels and toys, they have everything your vintage heart could desire. Perusing through their equally drool-worthy online shop reveals many treasures, one of them being these dainty wire sculptures by Masao Seki. So adorable. I want them all!

Factory

Flower A

Airplane

A square. That is all. What else do you need?

This minimal picture stand is fantastic.

There’s something painfully nostalgic to me about these electric cables.

Source: twitter

Ichimi and Shichimi by Akira Mabuchi

August 24, 2011 / Johnny / 1 Comment

click images to enlarge

Industrial designer Akira Mabuchi’s latest work are these pepper shakers (1,050 yen) shaped like the character for 1 (ichi) and 7 (shichi). Beginning with a circular base, the shapes rise up from the ground to form the characters. The shakers are intended to be used for Ichimi and Shichimi – 2 different types of pepper. Ichimi is just a single type of pepper whereas shichimi is, naturally, a blend of 7 different ingredients.

It was actually these pepper shakers that inspired the previous post on Taku Satoh’s 3D hiragana. See the resemblance?

Mabuchi even created this adorable “Onigiri” soy sauce dish (1,785 yen) which, with a douse of the dark condiment, takes on the look of a riceball wrapped in seaweed.

source: plot | akiramabuchi.com

Related:

Cupmen by Akira Mabuchi

Taku Satoh | Two Experiments Exhibition

August 23, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

click images to enlarge

Designer Taku Satoh recreated a 3-dimensional version of the Japanese alphabet by stacking numerous layers of paper. Apparently it was in response to an overall shift in emphasis towards contour, rather than essence – an unfortunate consequence of the pervasiveness of digital media.

I love how each hiragana is enclosed in their own individual wooden box, elevating them to a higher status. The execution of the exhibition is also breathtaking. I wish I could have seen it in person.

Taku Satoh | Two Experiments Exhibition
Gallery Kobo
2009.02.02 – 02.14

(I know it’s old work, but the designer just recently updated his website with a treasure trove of new work. I’ve been slowly going through it all. So much cool stuff!)

For other experimental hiragana, check out Hideo Kanbara’s 3D hiragana!

source: Taku Satoh’s website

METAPHYS haku iPhone cover

August 23, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

click images to enlarge

Japanese industrial designer Chiaki Murata’s METAPHYS brand has released HAKU, a metallic cover for the iPhone 4 that is just 0.5mm thick. It comes in 2 types of materials: stainless steel and titanium. Both are anti-fingerprint coated and serve as a slick and light-weight metal armor for your phone. The titanium version comes in a variety of colors (mat silver / gold / pink / blue / green) but at 8,400 yen, the price is a bit steep.

It’s slated to go on sale this month. WhiteRabbit Express can help you order it from Japan.
Read other stories on METAPHYS

source: METAPHYS website

Sand Vase by Yukihiro Kaneuchi

August 22, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

Japanese designer Yukihiro Kaneuchi created a series of vases that resemble sand castles constructed on a beach.Except my actual sand structures were much more temporary.

Although conceptually the vases hinge largely upon one’s comprehension of an obscure competitive sport played by those enrolled in the national defense academy of Japan, I think they can be enjoyed regardless. I would love to have a set of these on my windowsill to remind me of the beach.

source: designboom | yukihirokaneuchi.com

Tobetter.us | Post Your Art → Help Japan

August 22, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

Tobetter.us is a pretty interesting idea. They are soliciting artwork from the online community in an attempt to drive traffic, generate ad revenue and then donate it (the revenue, not the art) to the Japan relief efforts.

We thought: “What if, instead of donating money, people could donate their talents to the cause?”

Makes sense. They’re accepting all forms of digitally accessible art including movies, music, photography and posters. But they need submissions to get them started? Got art?

Slide Hanger and Tray Table by Teruhiro Yanagihara

August 22, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

I love this new line of furniture that Teruhiro Yanagihara designed for Ringbell, an online gift-guide.
The “Slide Hanger” operates on a very simple grip mechanism that allows you to adjust the height of your hangers.

The equally awesome “Tray Table” comes with a porcelain tray that you can load up with food before returning it to its snuggly perch.

Found while snooping around his site

VOGUE ring_2011 by MUTE

August 19, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

images courtesy MUTE | click to enlarge

Japanese graphic design duo MUTE created this lovely project for VOGUE Nippon’s July 2011 issue. In an attempt to reformat a traditionally one-way, 2-dimensional media, the designers created origami rings out of the beautiful pages of VOGUE. Even after you’re done reading the magazine you can double-dip on some of your favorite images.

client : Only Free Paper
material : paper, rubber, VOGUE
size : w22 × d19 × h6

Found while snooping around their website.
Other stories on MUTE.

Hokke Case

August 18, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

If you’re looking for a conversation starter for your next cocktail party or comparable social gathering, leave the designer handbag at home. Instead, opt-in for carrying your cell phone and other small belongings in this Hokke Case. Hokke is a popular grilled fish – atka mackerel to be exact (although I had to look it up) – and is often served up in Japanese-style pubs. The best part is, the exterior is just the dried fish but it opens to reveal a cooked and served version!

mmmm… making me hungry.

Spotted over at Ito Manufacturing, which just sells a whole bunch of oddities and chotchkies.

DohYO Resturant and Bar

August 18, 2011 / Maddie / 1 Comment

When I caught a glimps of this new restaurant (just opened this past June), located in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen/West Midtown, I had flash backs of Japanese eateries from the time I lived in Tokyo. Yotel‘s main dining room DohYO serves up izakaya style (tapas) Latin-Asian fusion dishes created by Chef Richard Sandoval – known for Zengo.

The dining area, taking inspiration from the sumo wrestling ring, is centered around a raised platform. The diners sit on a pillow at low lying tables with recessed pits for leg room – much like you would see in traditional eateries in Japan today. The tables can actually be lowered to floor level allowing for other set up (like late night dancing after a few shots of sake); one thing that the Japanese eateries could learn from the creators of DohYO.