Posts from — October 2009

Microworks updates their website with a new product; musical note salt & pepper shakers (2,200 yen).  Because salt should only be taken in adagio. To give your chicken medley some energico. Because you are the concerto master of your kitchen! Ok, I’ll stop.

Related:

• Microworks | No Humor No Design
• Microworks | Vine Cell Phone Charger
• AC Adapter Midor from KDDI

My wife just sent me this clip (2004) from Toribia no Izumi, also known in its reincarnated life on Spike TV as Hey! Spring of Trivia. A research team scoured through 10,000 middle school textbooks (from several areas of study including history, science and music) and aggregated the graffiti/doodles into different categories.  The clip (Japanese only) is highly entertaining but for those of you who don’t care to watch, here are the top 3:
#3 – glasses and/or sunglasses
#2 – beards
#1 – speech bubbles

In each case prime victims appeared to be historical figures, but popular artwork and sculpture were not spared. I was surprised that poop, given that it is disproportionately easy to render versus comical effect, was not higher on the list.  It was 25th.

It would be really interesting to compare with a similar study conducted in the States. Any volunteers?

I wonder if I could get away with wearing something like this from the Autunm/Winter 09 collection of Engineered Garments? It’s considerably toned down from some of their previous designs.

Wow…Japanese architecture firm Wonderwall has updated their website with some insane Flash maneuvers. Not only is it super-fun to navigate, it’s extremely intuitive. The site was designed by star digital designer Yugo Nakamura, who can also be accredited with working on sites for Muji, Uniqlo and ffffound (there’s a nice interview with him over on Creative Review).

via kitsune noir

Sasaki Kogei was recently awarded the Gift Show 2009 Eco Company of the Year award. Their commitment to sustainability is quite impressive. Their all-natural paints and oils, as well as their recycling/reusing efforts are one thing. But the fact that they have maintained an active tree-planting program over the last several years sets them apart from other eco companies. And their products are gorgeous. I love this wood-worker set, which I featured 2 years ago in my gift guide from Japan. A recent favorite is this wooden measuring stick that helps you track the growth of your toddler. But uuum, …how shall I put this? Only in Japan could a company like this get away with actively promoting smith and Wesson toy guns and gorgeously crafted cigarette holders. That’s Japan for you.

Want to know more great things about Japan? Check out cnngo’s recent article on 50 reasons why Tokyo is the greatest city in the world.

I’m liking all these regional artists and designers because my posts are usually very Tokyo-centric. So it’s been incredibly fun to discover talent outside of the big metropolis. Masayoshi Suzuki Gallery, who made a showing at Nagoya Design Week, represents artists based in the Nagoya area who have adapted natural objects as their primary media, or who derive inspiration from nature. I love all these organic-looking shapes that are largely abstract but possess a warm familiarity.

“fruits, root or head” and “untitled” (2008) by Yoshinobu Nakagawa.
Made from wood, cotton, bamboo, acrylic, cowhide and beeswax.

“Anatama” and “Kinotama” (2008) by Toru Matsuoka
Made from paper and wood

Works from the series, “Inside Passage – Raven Steals the Light” (2005) by Goro Hirata
Very Spiral Jettyish

“will come/won’t come,” “27 years old” and “shuffle book” (2009) by Manya Kato, the one artist who seems to deviate towards the realm of conceptual art. Also the only one who has his own website.

Here is another great find from Nagoya Design Week. Takehide Sawada and Keishi Oyama, both graduates of Nagoya University’s Graduate School of Design and Architecture, established Studio Point in 2004. The two designers have amassed an impressive portfolio of product, architectural, and interior designs. I especially love this Flannel Sofa with that cubby hole for all your sofa essentials.

I also became a fan of their No Conditions drawing table for kids. I admire how it emphasizes the sheer area of the drawing paper. However, I would also caution that it probably encourages kids to move along too quickly to a new canvas. I know if Little Huey had this he would make a couple marks and then proceed to the next sheet!

I had a nice chuckle today reading through Christoph Niemann’s latest post in his New York Times’ blog. I can especially relate to his thoughts on sleeping with your kids and how the initial sweet cuddling quickly manifests itself into a problematic reality.

We all know that Japan is a small, condensed island but do you know where the narrowest passageways in all of Japan are? The 55cm-wide turnstiles of Japan’s railways. And guess who did their homework? Goto Design Office, the designers responsible for coming up with the specs of this new stroller that was unveiled earlier in the year.

The Curio Avventura has everything; a UV-blocking sun screen, a rope that automatically collapses the stroller, fabric that completely detaches to be thrown in the washer, ample storage space (even a place to put your grocery basket), all in a package that can roll right through Japan’s narrowest passageways. Finally, I don’t have to rely on lousy humans to get me into the train station.

Found at the 2009 Nagoya Design Awards

I love this quite literal interpretation of a table. haha! How fun would it be gather around this with clients in an office space? It reminds me of this show, Word World, that my son occasionaly watches on PBS Kids. It was designed by Toshinori Kamiya of Kamiya Design, who will be giving a talk at Nagoya Design Week on Friday the 16th.