Category — Accessories

With cost-competitiveness sweeping through the manufacturing industry like an angry lady with a broom, sparing only those with the strength to scale up capacity and scale down price, what are Japan’s small companies and artisans to do? Inevitably, embrace. That is the philosophy of mass item, a new store started by Takashi Yoshida aimed at exploring the possibilities of plastic. He has enlisted 3 designers to assist him – 2 of which, if you are familiar with spoon & tamago, you should be familiar with as well – Shunsuke Umiyama (Microworks), Norihiko Terayama (Studio Note) and newcomer Kumano Wataru.

Although the pieces have a highly manufactured quality to them, every piece gets finished off with a human touch – whether it is vibration finish or a hand-assembly. I like the idea of subtle resistance. Here is an overview of what they have done for the shop.

Ladder by Microworks (he seems to be obsessed with ladders)

Layerscape by Studio Note

Tokyo Clock by Kumano Wataru

Related:

• f,l,o,w,e,r,s and folling flower by Studio Note
• ladder ruler and vine cell charger by Microworks

I am currently on a quest to replace all our silverware with wood because I have never liked metal in my mouth, or the way it sounds when rubbed up against ceramics.This CO ZEN urushi cutlery set for kids could work nicely for little Huey. Urushi, also known as Japanese lacquer ware, is made from the sap of a tree and has been used to make dishes and utensils since the Jomon period. The beautifully hand-crafted set instills a sense of tradition and significance in the child and ritualizes the act of sitting down to eat. I am all for teaching kids the importance of eating, and what you put in your mouth.

The CO ZEN set (18,000 yen) comes with a spoon, fork, knife, desert spoon and chopsticks. The lid also flips over to serve as a place mat. It reminds me a lot of the Fun Fam Table Manners set.

thanks to @skrtr for the tip

Easy-going Japanese design duo Yuruliku, comprised of Bananao and Kinue Oneda, get their pleasure from designing the smaller things in life. Their prime focus is on stationary but their awesome tote bags that I featured on this site back in ’08 have always been my favorite. Just announced last week, their latest design is grass-shaped post its that serve as page markers. The accumulation of  interest or curiosity creates a blossoming tuft of grass.

They are currently available only through yuruliku’s online shop. For 700 yen you get a total of 75 markers in 3 different sizes.

Enigmatic designer Naoto Fukasawa’s ±0 brand has just released their latest design, a minimalistic wristwatch that allows you to easily replace the band by sliding it in and out. Love the simplicity! It comes in 4 variations, each costing about 30,000 yen. It goes on sale March 5th.

Related:

• Naoto Fukasawa’s MUJI CD Player
• 5th Collection by ±0

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.

Related:

• Makiba Table Set by Rie Isono

screen shots. click to enlarge

Considering the proliferation of iPods amongst…well, pretty much everyone, I’m surprised that no one has tapped into the customized earphones market. Based out of Tokyo and launched in 2009, Kotori claims to be the only company in the world to offer such a service. For just 3,600 yen the user-friendly interface guides you through the process of color-customizing up to 10 components to create your very own unique set of earphones. They also let you choose from a bunch of themes or, if you are lazy like me, hit the crazy shuffle button for randomized action.

Concerned about compromising sound quality? Don’t be. Kotori is a service launched by Fostex, the Japanese manufacturer of audio equipment, who is single-handedly responsible for the ubiquitous white iPod earphones.

(thanks seki riu!)

The latest product from design studio Microworks is this insanely adorable ladder ruler. If price was not an issue I would definitely have a few of these propped up against the wall of my desk! They come in black and silver and you can buy them here for about $60.

Related:

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