Masahiro Minami, while he is not designing furniture modeled after pizzly bears or tasty delights modeled after hair, also finds the time to teach a design seminar at the University of Shiga Prefecture. Occasionally he shares some of the work that his students create. A byproduct of his latest seminar, which just wrapped up last month, was this awesome kids dresser, table and chair. I can’t believe that was done by a student. I would buy that!
Planning on checking out the Tokyo 69th International Gift Show starting tomorrow and continuing on through the end of the week? Be sure to check out the Takahashi Kogei booth where designers Oji Masanori and Rina Ono will be showcasing their respective new works.
From Oji Masanori: KAMI dishes, a new addition to the KAMI line of paper-thin wooden cups. To be used as coasters, lids or whatever you want, really. Also, the Kakudo wooden butter cases.
From Rina Ono: The wooden desert cup and goblet.
Wood is horrible at conducting heat, which makes it ideal as a container for cold deserts because you don’t get condensation!
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Rounding out my several posts on accessories from last week is the design studio PULL+PUSH PRODUCTS. The studio has been based out of Kyoto ever since their founding in 2002. It is headed by designer and raftsman Nobuhiro Sato (I know, I meant to write craftsman, but wouldn’t it be funny if he was also a rafts man?), who is supported by Sanae Komatsu. Together, they form the tight-knit design studio, meaning, they handle everything from designing and production to packaging and shipping.
By the way, I love their adorable profile pics whose playful nature is consistent with their work. They derive inspiration from the cold and heavy to create the fun and exciting. For example, this abandoned building lamp (12,600 yen) would make for an awesome accent piece.
The drain planter (3,780 yen) is also fun, in a gross kind of way. It’s like all the gook that gets caught in the drain decided to sprout greens.
Then there is the incinerator (4,410 yen) that burns incense.
Perhaps my favorite is the ingenious mortar push-pins (630 yen). Although they only come in packs of 6, how often have you exhausted your supply of 500?
Sandwich on Rye (3,000 yen) is a desktop accessory that takes its name from the versatile characteristics of, you guessed it, a sandwich. You can put whatever you like in-between. It’s the latest brainchild of Haruka Nakai of Design Office Switch.
Catching the wave from my last post I’m going to take the day to post about a few other accessories I’ve been eyeing lately. First up is Frames, a mobile made from hinoki, or Japanese cypress.
click images to enlarge
Taking its cue from the work of Alexander Calder, the minimalist/cubist structure uses transparent strings to create the illusion of levitation. It also presents itself with a 2nd element of joy; the shadows it projects onto a wall. It was designed by Shigeki Fujishiro, who left the design firm IDEE in 2005 to start his own studio.
The mobile debuted in 2008 at an exhibition at Tortoise in LA. They then traveled back to Japan where they resided for 3 months at an exhibition at NACT (National Art Center Tokyo) in early 2009. And finally, after their long pilgrimage, they are available for purchase (36,750 yen) at Scope. You can even watch a small video here if you scroll down towards the bottom.
Kid-friendly designer Rie Isono recently designed Awasefu Cacao (3,800 – 4,800 yen), a multi-pocket carrier to help keep moms, or anyone, really organized.
UPDATE: my bad. I thought it had multiple pockets but the designer pointed out that in fact it’s a single pocket carrier that comes in different sizes. Each size is designed for a specific purpose. I still think it’s neat.
Made out of awasefu, an artificial leather that is gentle on hands and small accessories, the holder takes its cue from the cocoa pod – before it’s processed into chocolate, of course – that houses all its little beans in different pockets.
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A big surprise on my doorstep when I got home yesterday! My friends at Branch sent over a care package of the beautiful Wasara disposable tableware, fresh off the boat from Japan (read the story here). The actuals are even more stunning than they appeared on screen. My only dilemma now is, what kind of shindig do I need to throw to justify the usage of these beauties. Purchase Wasara HERE!
Whenever my wife and I go back to Japan we go binge shopping at, well, a number of stores, but one of them is Watashi no Heya. There are only 3 stores in Tokyo and one of them happens to be in Kichijoji. Their not-too-over-the-top Japanese style appeals to me and we always end up accumulating several pieces. However, when we are not able to go back we like to torture ourselves by canoodling with their online catalog. Last night we did just this and found ourselves drooling over their new line of kiddy ceramics, as well as some of their basics.
It’s no secret that one of the hardest hit industries last year were the magazines. No matter where you were, titles were dropping like flies amidst a hemorrhaging of advertisement budgets and consumer belt tightening. So who is going to fill the cultural void left by luminaries such as Studio Voice, asked many. Stepping up are Hiroki Shinkawa (of Shoten Kenchiku) and Taikyo Sakano (of Pen) who have teamed up to start pers, a new periodical focusing on Japanese architecture. Stunning design! Volume 0 (840 yen) is currently available at NADiff, Utrecht, and other artsy shmartsy bookstores.
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Thanks to @shintajiri (my old roomate) for pointing me towards this awe-inspiring shot of the Tokyo Sky Tree going up. I didn’t think places like this in Tokyo still existed.The Tokyo Sky Tree is on schedule to be completed in 2011.
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