[Spoiler Alert] It’s an enchanting tale about a child who is visited in the middle of the night by a little bear. The little bear had awoken to find its mommy gone so the child goes on a search with the bear. They look in honey stores, in parks, under tables and even in the sky. In the end they find the mommy fishing for star-eyed fish in order to feed the little one.

The beautiful, soft-spoken illustrations set the tone for this oh-so common story that so often goes untold. It strikes a cord with kids, who always want to be with their mommy and daddy, but also with working parents, who must, on a daily basis, deal with the pain of explaining to their child why they must leave them to go out and work.

(sorry about the glare in these pictures)

It was written and illustrated by Komako Sakai. One of her later works, Snow Day (2005), was published in English and went on to be named by the New York Times as one of the best children’s books of 2009.

The Hand Fork & Hand Spoon is a recent joint collaboration between Mitsubai Tokyo and illustrator Moe Furuya (whose name is not pronounced like one of the 3 stooges). The set retails for 3,150 yen. If you’re interested, you can see some of Furuya’s psychedelic illustrations HERE.

How awesome is this packaging? If I owned a store I would display them like books in a bookshelf.

Eiji Sumi of Design Water, a design practice based in Gifu, Japan, recently updated his portfolio. Browsing through it I spotted these gems: a reworked set of chairs and desks for an elementary school in Japan. There is no text to accompany it so I can only speculate, but it looks like he was working with a lot of recycled materials here. Very clever!

We’ve just received word that GENETO has been awarded a gold in the 2010 JCD Design Awards for their work, Tanada Piece Gallery. Located in Kyotanabe City, Kyoto (Google Map) the gallery was designed to emulate the terraced rice paddies that begin to take shape as you travel by train to arrive at the modest town.

The clients – two retired schoolteachers – wanted to create a multifunctional space where families and children could come and enjoy art, chat, play and generally just enjoy themselves. The designers came up with the idea of various “scenes” that would allow for the different activities and the result is a revolutionary space for viewing art.

I think having art on the floors, at the same level as the viewer, is simply a fantastic way to gets kids and adults interested in art. It’s hard to get anyone excited about art if you hang it on a wall, several feet above their head, forcing them to strain their neck at something that is flaunting its importance.

The JCD (Japan Commercial Environment Designers Association) Design Awards are given to designers, and their work, who particularly excel in the field of interior design and commercial space design

Some winners for the 2009 JCD Design Awards include Yamakoya by Ben Nagaoka, Blossom and Atmosphere by Ryuji Nakamura, Spitzen weben by Chuo Architects and Mori x Haco by UID Archtects.

So, now that the publication is no longer available on Amazon.jp I want to offer the images my readers. If you are interested in receiving a zip file with tons of inspiration for kids rooms, leave a comment below (and an email address) and I will blast everything out  maybe over the weekend.

Related:

• Araki in Wonderland

One of the centerpieces of my imagination as a child were Denden. The curiosity they would provoke, as they oozed up the side of a wall leaving a sparkling layer of slime behind them, tickled every developing sense I had.  They followed rainfall like rats followed the pied piper, never once disappointing my expectations, which – admittedly – more often than not ended tragically for the snail.

Denden is also the name given to these beautiful wooden hooks that mimic the wall-climbing motion of their model. Having a hole and a hook is such a great idea, and would work in any kids room. It was designed by Masahiro Minami and made from all-natural Beech wood.

The word denden originated from one of many games children would play with snails in which, essentially, kids would shout “derodero” (meaning come out, come out) in hopes that the snail would poke its feelers, and then its head, out.

By the way, next week is children’s day. To commemorate, they are taking 20% off, which gets you to 2,879 yen.

click images to enlarge

The school is located in Yokohama; a 10-minute bus ride from Konandai Station.

The rationale behind the zig-zaging structure was to preserve and incorporate all the preexisting trees. You can see that some of them have been “swallowed” by the building to create a total of 5 courtyards. The cubic structure, combined with all-glass windows and doors, maintains a significant level of transparency between different rooms.

Check out the fluorescent lighting on the ceiling. It’s in the shape of a cross.

Chigo, the proprietors of chic wooden toys for kids, recently announced the launch of  Gochi – a new collection of stylish clothing for boys. Their Spring/Summer 2010 collection includes these fun t-shirts (3,990 yen) and other minimal basics. Although not part of the collection, I really like these bicycle print onesies and t-shirts as well (also 3,990 yen).

And how funny are these ‘shrooms made from leftover fabric from all their recent creations? I’ve always thought mushrooms would make awesome baby toys but that little voice from the outside world that keeps my self-assessments in check prevented me from tossing one down from the counter….until now.

Related:

• Chigo Natural Wooden Toys

Construction has begun on Ryuichi Ashizawa’s Forest Nursery, a magical space for youngsters to grow and learn. The structure was designed to incorporate the preexisting trees that claim the site. The keystone of the 4-floor structure will be a multipurpose room that visually and physically links all the other compartments, each which will have their own age-appropriate purpose. It looks amazing and I can’t wait to see it completed!…which, of course, I will keep you posted on.

Forget my kids! I want to go there!

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