Posts from — June 2009

Ok ok, I just heard a rumor that artsy shoe store Camper has hired superstar designer Tokujin Yoshioka to design their new store in London. Confirmation of this would mean they are on a roll with Japanese designers; first NENDO and next Tokujin Yoshioka.

Related:

• media skin by Tokujin Yoshioka
• Camper x NENDO
• Camper x Jaime Hayon
• Camper x Ingo Maurer

My friend yuka pressured me into entering little huey in the inhabitots eco-cutie photo contest. So I just uploaded a picture but the contest ends in about 9 hours so we’re at a significant disadvantage. That’s where you come in! If you think huey deserves to win, follow THIS LINK and vote for him! continue to update #2.

update: unfortunately the link only takes you to the top of the page. so you’ll have to scroll far, far down… alternatively, you can do a page search for “huey” and that will take you there!

update #2: people have been unable to vote if they enter through a direct link… soooo, go to their MAIN PAGE and click on eco-cutie photo contest. It’s currently the 3rd post from the top. Why must they make it so complicated?

Here is little huey, subtly asserting his beliefs on climate change.

I’m loving this translucent train ad for Suntory’s black oolong tea. It was designed by Rika Eguchi from Dentsu. Eguchi, along with 3 others, is being awarded the new designer 2009 award from JAGDA. There will be an exhibition of work taking place on July 2nd over at the creation gallery G8. It’s free but you need reservations.

(What’s with the chubby white guy in the business suit?)

Before I take off for the weekend I just wanted to welcome Modernica as a new sponsor to Spoon & Tamago. They have a great website that is chock-full of droolworthy furniture. They even offer direct shipping to Japan! Click on the link to the right to get free tax & shipping!

All right, that’s it, I’ve seen it all. Just watch the video. You will be thoroughly entertained. You would think a nation with such kinky fetishes would have a much higher birth rate.

And still trying to figure out what you’re doing today? Head over to the Highline Ballroom on 16th Street (Manhattan) for the Air Sex World Championships!

Have a splendid weekend!

(thanks Albert)

A nice shot of a work by the Gutai Group at the Venice Biennale, courtesy of the New York Times. Gutai was a post-war art movement that originated in the 1950s. In that sense they share a lot of characteristics with the Butoh dance movement. The prevalent theme encompassing Gutai is the beauty of decay, as well as the process of destruction.

The sandbox is such as artifact of the past. Growing up in Tokyo I remember spending many hours with my Dad playing in the sand. I remember the gravity of the sand, the warmth – and subsequent chill – of the sand as well as the devastating effects a bucket of water can have on a exquisitely built sand castle.

I saw this line of soaps and perfumes at anthropologie the other day and was severly confused. Then it was picked up by the moment today, which was good because they provided some supplemental information on the products. Namely, that they were designed by Denver-based illustrator Margot Elena Wells.

The packaging is breathtaking and almost makes me want to clean myself with something called Tokyo Milk Soap.

I really like the aesthetic of these ads for a new skincare line and salon called MAMEW. The whole package – identity, graphics and interior – was designed by Good Design Company, and took home a bronze medal in the prestigious One Show Awards, winners of which were announced last month.

The blurring of the face and body seems to me a radical take on beauty advertising where conventionally you had these up-close, high-definition shots of super smooth skin. Interesting.

Related:

• Good Design Company

First of all, an apology for 2 consecutive MUJI-related posts. But I was browsing through the TIAA (Tokyo interactive ad awards) announced last month and am totally loving this MUJI website called PLAY MUJI. Using a calendar format, a new product is unveiled each day accompanied by a cute video that visually describes the product.

You can view the entire list of award winners HERE.

The oh so blogger-friendly site also allows you to generate java script code that you can use to blog about it. Overall awesome aesthetic and superfun. But it only won a silver in the corporate website category.

Japanese interior design and renovation firm Rebita has teamed up with Muji to offer a customizable renovation solutions using only Muji items. The structure allows you reinvent your home based on events, whether it’s a house party or an addition to the family. This is essentially the concept of Skeleton Infill (SI) housing, in which the skeleton of the house is preserved while the insides changes. This concept has been taking the Japanese architecture world by storm and I expect to see a handful of projects like this in the near future. More on this topic HERE.

Related:

• Kenchikukagu by Atelier OPA