Category — Crafts

Pick Holder (2,300 yen) | click images to enlarge

Designer Mikiya Kobayashi was kind enough to send us images of kime, a new line of products that he launched over the summer. Kime (木目), which means grain or wood texture, is an appropriate name for this new line of finely crafted wooden products because that is exactly what they are all about.

Bottle Opener (2,800 yen)

Each piece was hand crafted by wood artisans in Ashikawa, Hokkaido, who have worked with the material their entire lives. Kobayashi speaks of wood as if it was a person. Every piece of wood is different from the next, without a single one having the same face, says Kobayashi in an interview. Each grain is unique, offering the user an infinite glimpse at the many expressions of wood.

Tape Measure (2,500 yen)

You can see the product lineup here and you can buy the pieces here.

I recently discovered Crate Furniture, purveyors of beautiful wooden things, based out of Kagoshima, Japan. I would love to eat out of those wooden bowls. From the picture I can’t figure out how they were made, but those wooden vases are fantastic too.

It just so happens that some of their pieces are on display at Heath Ceramics (in LA) in conjunction with a show featuring products from Playmountain, a design shop in Tokyo. The show began on June 5th and runs through the entire summer (September 5th).If you are in the area you should definitely check it out!

My masculinity is going to take a hit on this one.

My wife recently finished up this sewing class and has enjoyed it immensely. After the kids go to sleep it’s become her routine to sit down at her sewing table and work (play?) for a few hours. I’ve heard it whispered in the past, but apparently it’s true – people will make trips to Japan solely to stuff their suitcases full of fabrics and carry their treasures back to their studio.

After watching my wife work I’ve finally started to pick up on some of the intricacies that make Japanese fabrics so endearing.

NaniIRO (what color) is one of the shops that my wife visits frequently. Sad to say, but I’ve found myself drooling over some of their fabrics, wishing I could reach into the screen and wrap them around myself to bandage my wounded manliness.

They also offer free sewing templates that you can print and make your own clothes. There is something very beautiful and endearing about the hand-written ones. However, according to my wife they make her shudder. For practicality she much prefers the computer-generated ones.

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And these are some images from another store she visits, Polka Drops.

And below is a what the computer-generated template looks like. Easier to follow, I guess. But I far prefer the hand-written one.

Speaking of Kaminokousakujo, another one of their latest products are these awesome greeting cards (580 yen) created from paper figures often used in architectural modeling. They are the recent brainchild of Naoki Terada (Terada Architects).

I think my favorite is the I’m Sorry card (not that I’m feeling guilty about anything!), which comes with the flexibility of molding your paper doppelganger’s bow to accurately communicate the intensity of your apology:

For example,

1. momentarily-held 10-degrees (“gosh, was that your toe I trod on?”)
2. briefly-held 25-degrees (“sorry, we’ve run out of tuna”)
3. 2-second, 45 degrees (“I know you’re the Best Man, but the flight is canceled”)
4. 5-second 45 degrees (“I’ve just backed over your dog, boss”)
5. 20-second 90 degrees (“our widget blinds kids”)
6. and the “dogeza” kneel on the floor (“evacuate your village, the plant is exploding”)

photos by Satomi Tomita.

Back in March Torafu Architects’ Air Vase debuted on dezeen to high acclaim. The highly versatile paper vessel, manufactured by the gods of paper, also known as kaminokousakujo, can be stretched and sculpted into a plate, vase or bowl. And now it is officially available! (1,260 yen for a set of 3)

You can watch a slightly intimidating video below to see how the vessel, which starts out as a flat disk, is sculpted into a preferred shape. What is beautiful about the vessel is that it has multi-colored sides, which change depending on your vantage point.

Related:

• Kotori Mobile by passkey design
• address tray by andesign
• New Study | mina perhonen + torafu architects
• Template in CLASKA by Torafu Architects
• Boolian by Torafu Architects

Furthering his explorations into the destructive capabilities of ceramic and glass, Norihiko Terayama, of Studio Note, has created “Glassmic Vase.”

To me, this vase possesses so much energy that I can’t decide if it looks like it has been put back together, or if it looks like it is about to implode.

Related:

• f,l,o,w,e,r,s and folling flower by Studio Note

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There is a certain Japanese aesthetic that values the incorruptibility of destruction. Sen no Rikyu, the great tea master, believed that the gates of creativity – in its purest form – only open by resisting and destroying existing concepts engraved by our predecessors.

As Japanese designer Masayuki Kurokawa pointed out in his “Eight Manifestations of the Japanese Aesthetic,” “ [destruction] is considered to be a device that interrupts (destroys) the current flow and permits a major leap forward. The idea is that life forces are stimulated by defiance and are realized precisely through the process of destruction.”

Fast-forward to 2010. Norihiko Terayama, of Studio Note, in my opinion, is a designer who often embraces this concept, leading him to create beautiful objects based on the fleeting, destructive cycle of nature (see “related” below). His latest work is Twotoo, a pair of tea cups that have been revived using “tsunagi” (or bonding), a method commonly employed to repair broken ceramic dishes. The silver and gold lines that run throughout the piece, serving as evidence of where the ceramic bond broke, writes Terayama, often results in a deep attachment that surpasses the beauty of its previous form.

Related:

• f,l,o,w,e,r,s by Studio Note
• folling flower by Studio Note

Happy Easter! It’s Sunday but I felt the urge to post this awesome leather tissue box that fits on the back of car seats. It’s the latest brainchild of Hou-Leather. It’s a sickly face tissue box that pukes tissues… to make you feel better when you are carsick in the backseat….cuz misery loves company.

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photos by Masahiro Minami

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Creative unit Drill Design, along with furniture designers Full Swing, have, since 2007, been working on a prototype for a new kind of plywood. Two weeks ago they enthusiastically announced that Paper Wood, with the help of Takizawa Veneer, will become commercially available in 2010. Paralleling the announcement was a website that went live, which helps explain what this new material is all about.

Paper Wood is an ecologically sensitive material that is made from colorful recycled paper sandwiched by birch and lime wood. It’s unlike anything out there, states the company, in that its visual attractiveness negates the need for any coating or finishes.

Related:

• geografia by Drill Design
• human blocks by Drill Design

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I was intrigued by the title of this exhibition, which is actually starting tomorrow. A camera futon? What the heck is that? Then I saw the picture and it all made sense. It’s a bed for your camera to rest in while not being used. It’s made by zakuro, a collaborative team comprised of, understandably, a camera geek and a textile geek.

I also fell in love with these incredibly awesome handmade shoes by Hou Leather. Both companies are based in the Kyoto vicinity and the joint-exhibition will be held at Kyoto’s well-known stylish cafe, Urinsya. If you are in the area and like what you see it may be worth checking out. Both teams will be showcasing oldies-but-goodies, along with new designs (futons for digital cameras and polkadot shoes).