Spoon & Tamago

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Kengo Kuma’s V&A Dundee is Scotland’s First Design Museum

The new V&A Dundee, designed by Kengo Kuma | photo by Ross Fraser McLean

The V&A Dundee, which is Scotland’s first design museum, will open tomorrow, September 15, 2018. It was designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who used cutting-edge 3D modelling tools to create the unique shape and façade of the museum, which is intended to mirror the appearance of a Scottish cliff face. The curving walls are made from 2,500 individual stone panels, each weighing 3000 kg (together, that’s almost 8 thousand tons of wall!).

Junya Ishigami’s New Shop for Eyewear Brand JINS Features 12-Meter Cantilevered Display Shelves

September 14, 2018 / Johnny / 1 Comment

all photos by Eiichi Kano

In what is a masterful feat of structural engineering, architect Junya Ishigami has sculpted concrete cantilevered display shelves that are up to 12-meters (39-feet) long.

Nendo’s New ‘Skeleton’ Cutlery Hooks On To Things

September 12, 2018 / Johnny / 1 Comment

What happens when you reduce an object to its bare-bone minimum? That was essentially the idea behind a new line of cutlery created by Japanese design office Nendo.

Photographs of New Mexico’s White Sand Dunes by Yoshihiro Makino

September 12, 2018 / Johnny / 1 Comment

We’re absolutely loving the sculptural beauty of these white sand dunes photographed by Yoshihiro Makino during a trip to New Mexico in 2017. Staring at these otherworldly photographs, it’s easy to forget that you’re even looking at sand. With almost no rainfall throughout the year, the “White Sands” in winter are enveloped in crystals of dry gypsum; a vast and silent world that is seemingly devoid of life.

Playful Drawings of Cocktails with Fish by Kanta Yokoyama

September 7, 2018 / Johnny / 1 Comment

“GIN RICKEY AND GOLDEN TETRA”

The Japanese illustrator Kanta Yokoyama was born and raised in Kamakura, a lovely suburb outside Tokyo that’s situated between sea and mountains. It’s this environment, he says, that helped shape him as an artist. His illustrations are simple but whimsical, and he’s attributed his childhood of catching bugs and going fishing as the reason why his work often includes bugs and fish.

Reflecting on 20 Years of Good Design

September 7, 2018 / Johnny / 1 Comment

The Good Design Company was founded in 1998 by creative director Manabu Mizuno and, since their inception, have stayed true to their name. For 20 years Mizuno has attempted to “make things better” through design. And that has remained constant whether he’s designing a store, a train, a beer glass or Japan’s most lovable mascot Kumamon. Now, a new exhibition reflects on 2 decades of Mizuno’s Good Design.

The Story Behind Japan’s 〒 Postal Logo

September 5, 2018 / Johnny / 5 Comments

the history behinds Japan’s postal 〒 mark (all photos via wikimedia commons)

If you live in Japan, surely you’ve seen it before. It’s a symbol that looks like the capital letter T but with an additional horizontal line above it: 〒. Known as the postal mark (yubin kigo), it’s a symbol that represents the Japanese postal system. Despite a decline in physical letters sent, the postal system is still very much a part of life in Japan as it also offers banking and other financial services (an odd notion in itself as most Americans would never consider banking with USPS) and the 〒 appears on post boxes, delivery trucks and branch offices.

Think Of Things: a Unique Café and Lifestyle Shop in Tokyo

August 31, 2018 / Johnny / Comments Off

Think Of Things is a unique space in Tokyo that attempts to blend the boundaries between lifestyle and workstyle. It opened last year in Harajuku and is operated by Kokuyo, one of our favorite stationary brands. To that end, they offer a collection of stationary, furniture, fashion and art items in their 1st floor shop. There’s also a café on the ground level with large windows that open up to a terrace where coffee from Sangenjyaya, Tokyo-based Obscura Coffee Roasters is proudly being served.

A Private Room with a Built-In Garden and Wine Cellar

August 30, 2018 / Johnny / 1 Comment

all photos by Kenta Hasegawa / Shinkennchiku-sha courtesy Daisuke Motogi Architects

Architects are usually shackled with requirements, parameters and demands. But when you give them free-reign, it usually results in good things. At least that was the case for this private room, situated above a company’s Tokyo headquarters.

Portraits from the 2018 Koenji Awa Odori Festival

August 29, 2018 / Johnny / Comments Off

portraits from the Awa Odori festival in Koenji (2018) | all photos by Benjamin Beech

I grew up in Koenji, a small suburb of Tokyo. Every summer the town would host the Awa Odori, one of the grandest festivals I had ever seen. For days leading up to the event I would watch in wonder as preparations were made. A makeshift wooden tower was erected outside the train station, lights and lanterns would be hung and an electric vibe began permeating the shopping streets and among the storekeepers as anticipation built. Then, as the sun set, the lights went on and suddenly a procession of sound, dance and color descended upon the town.