Category — Furniture

Despite my initial cynicism – begging to tire of the Johnny Depp-Tim Burton-Tim Burton’s wife-tie-up – I have a renewed enthusiasm for Alice In Wonderland, which just hit theaters. Unfortunately, my day-to-day parenting responsibilities will, without a doubt, delay any form of viewing until a DVD release. But this is no reason not to have a little fun.

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When thinking about the film I keep coming back to the work of Midori Araki, a Japanese artist who creates fantastical and whimsical installations and furniture. Some of her stuff looks like it could be seamlessly placed onto the set. In 2007 she created “Spice of a Day” for the popular lifestyle goods chain Afternoon Tea.

I am also a big fan of the fun and creepy “Phantom Light” (2006) which projects unsuspected shadows onto the ceiling.

Stump (2000) was, in Araki’s own words, modeled after mankind’s very first chair. A limited series of 20 chairs were made, each with their own unique inscription. When arranged properly, they complete an entire verse from a poem.

Masahiro Minami takes us on another photo tour of a senior thesis exhibition, this time at Kyoto University of Art and Design. I am constantly amazed, inspired and then puzzled by the level of craftsmanship and creativity I see at these shows. Puzzled as in, where does all this talent disappear to after graduation? Does everyone join a Japanese firm where their innovation is suppressed and then extinguished? Anyway, let us move along to some of my top picks.

This bookshelf is like something right out of Alice in Wonderland.
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Imagine a grey world of washi paper and felt

If home appliances were inhabited by a community of tiny, industrious, architecturally advanced peoples. (I love this series)

What an awesome idea for a housing complex.

Related:

• Kobe Design University thesis exhibition

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Japanese architecture and environmental research office S.O.Y. LABO recently designed the Shobon Bookcase. It looks like it would be perfect for organizing cookbooks and using it as a stand while you cook! It even has interchangeable pegs that adjust to the size of your book.

How cool is this table made from interlocking wood panels leftover from the manufacturing process? TSUNAGU is the latest in a series of furniture from the MATE-RE-INNO line, short for Material Re-Innovation. It was launched by Label Creators, a company that believes in traditional Japanese craftsmanship and materials. They acknowledge that waste is generated throughout the design process and many of their lines attempt to recycle those remnants of design. I would love to see this table put to use with magazines, photos and other random objects laid on the shelving that is created as a result of all the panels.

Riding off my previous post I wanted to share some more work by up-and-coming designer Wataru Kumano. After completing a design program in Japan Wataru relocated to Finland in 2002. He completed in MA in furniture design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki, at which point he returned to Japan and took a position at the Tokyo studio of Jasper Morrison. Last year he founded his own design studio and appears to be at the point where he is revving up his design engine which, if I might add, has a nice blend of Nordic naturals and Japanese simplicity.

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I found this image on his website to be quite inspiring. Who knew all the shades of green could be found in a scallion? I like the idea of a Food Diary. After all, we are what we eat.

Masahiro Minami, while he is not designing furniture modeled after pizzly bears or tasty delights modeled after hair, also finds the time to teach a design seminar at the University of Shiga Prefecture. Occasionally he shares some of the work that his students create. A byproduct of his latest seminar, which just wrapped up last month, was this awesome kids dresser, table and chair. I can’t believe that was done by a student. I would buy that!

In their first news item of 2010, Japanese furniture distributor E&Y posted this teaser image of a table designed by Koichi Futatsumata of Case-Real. The cat hammock doubles as a table because all us cat owners know our lives revolve around them. It will be available this Spring.

Ok, I can’t restrain myself any longer. CUTENESS!!!!

The 2nd most popular post of 2009 on Spoon & Tamago was AWA by nosigner, published on April 27, 2009. You saw it here first. The line of furniture was developed in collaboration with the Tokushima Wood-Bamboo Workers Association and originally showcased at the boutique hotel CLASKA in April. Over 6 months later the pieces made their way to Design Tide Tokyo where they caught the attention of the larger design community.

Triangle / Square / Rhombus (2,000 – 5,000 yen)

Hex (200,600 yen)

Squares (450,000 yen)

Coming in at number 4 was Another Kind of Table published on October 2, 2009. Toshinori Kamiya’s humorous attempt at creating the most literal interpretation of a table EVER, had me smiling.

Brooklyn-based Japanese designer Takeshi Miyakawa recently updated his website with new images. Although I don’t believe the work is necessarily new (hard to tell because there are no dates), there were some pieces that I hadn’t seen before, such as the Zero Shift table and the Gang of 4 storage unit.

Zero Shift. By sliding the two pieces, you can change the configurations and size according to your room. It can also be used for storage, i suppose.

Gang of 4. Four different-colored bookshelves that can be configured in multiple ways.

Miyakawa first landed on my, and probably many others’, radar screen when he showcased his work at BKLYN DESIGNS in 2008. His fractal 23 storage unit and rite of spring, an installation first shown at BKLYN DESIGNS in 2009, became immediate internet sensations, and rightly so. I remain a huge fan of his work and, if I had the moolah, would love to purchase one of his pieces from Voos Furniture (who has them priced in the low 5-digit range).

Fractal 23 ($19,000)

Rite of Spring