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As promised, here is a roundup of some of the goodies procured during our latest trip to Tokyo.

Our first stop was Watashi no Heya, a droolworthy shop I  have, well, drooled over in the past.

click images to enlarge

Next was FrancFranc, where we picked up this adorable coffee maker for 2. It’s come in handy as we try to adjust back to NY-time.

Although we own some, we picked up another pair of pig mugs designed by Kenjiro Sano. Not only do they make great gifts, they are also responsible for one of my favorite quotes: “it’s one of those things that’s not really funny but to Japanese people it’s f*ing hilarious.”

Our last stop was Afternoon Tea, where we picked up some cute ceramics for the kiddies, who are finally graduating from the indestructible IKEA plates. I immediately fell in love with the egg (tamago) pasta plates, as well as those cereal bowls.

Pictured above is the London motif but we also picked up the NY version.

How we managed to carry all this back without breaking anything is still a mystery to me.

Yasumichi Morita of interior design firm Glamorous recently completed the newest FrancFranc shop (which I have compared to Crate & Barrel in the past) in the upscale Aoyama area of Tokyo. I made a couple purchases here during my trip to Japan, which I will share at a later time.

Also in the past I have had mixed feelings for Morita’s work, which straddles a delicate balance between classy and corny, but this time around I have only good things to say about the awesome space.

And yet again, in the past, Yasumichi Morita appeared on this site previously with rapper verbal in a photo shoot for Louis Vuitton. And coincidentally, both showed up at the opening party in May – the latter being a surprise guest DJ for the event.

The new flagship store, which, for its vast scale, is also known as FrancFranc Village, will include several in-shop collaborations such as the very first Monocle shop in Japan.

Hisae Igarashi of Igarashi Design has designed a series of eco-friendly furniture made from laminated wood. The unique process enables distorted ovals  and other odd shapes to take effect, as well as an intentional gradation of shades.

I especially love the shape of that table and how, depending on where you sit, you can either be closer or farther away from your partner. The furniture was all produced in Japan by the artisans at Hida Industries.

The collection also utilizes all the imperfections such as knots, instead of tossing them as scraps. The roughness – much like the crisp crust of a baguette – is simply what wooden furniture was meant to feel like in its natural form.

Kokuyo’s Kadokeshi by Hideo Kanbara

Speaking of Hideo Kanbara, his Kadokeshi eraser (above) – a Kokuyo Design Award nominee of 2002 and a subsequent hit product in stationary stores across Japan (not to mention an induction into MoMA’s permanent collection) – has recently been incarnated into Milikeshi, Kokuyo’s latest innovative eraser. Milikeshi, which derives its name from millimeter and keshi (erase) went on sale May 13th.

Kokuyo’s Milikeshi by Yuji Baba

Standing on the shoulders of its predecessor, the Milikeshi – designed by 72-year old visual designer Yuji Baba – boasts 5 different edges that each offer a specific width (6mm, 5mm, 4mm, 3mm and a point) to sync with any type of notebook.

As an added bonus, as soon as the edges wear down a slice can be detached, revealing brand-new sharp edges. The best part? The detached slice looks like a ninja shuriken.

The only problem is, I can’t remember the last time I used an eraser. And with the iPad hitting shelves in Japan later this month it will be interesting to see how sales face up to those of its ancestor. According to the company, the Kadokeshi, which went on sale in May of 2003, sold over 1 million units in its first year.

via SPGRA

Japanese industrial designer Chiaki Murata’s design firm Metaphys recently announced their latest product design: a snazzy new lunchbox named Ojue. The concept is actually quite revolutionary.

Your typical bento box looks like this (in fact, mine does too, except it doesn’t have ballerinas on it); horizontally-orientated with a large base. However, all my shoulder bags look like this; vertically orientated, and rightly so, to accommodate objects like books and notepads. So when I stuff my horizontal bento box into my vertical shoulder bag it’s not only uncomfortable, but looks lopsided and ugly.

So Ojue (2,800 yen, including the chopsticks) is a welcomed addition to the array of selection when it comes to bento boxes. It includes 3 stacking units that “can be freely combined depending on appetite and physical condition, based on the idea of providing ‘vertical flexibility.’ ”

Take that, old bento box!

Related:

• NODE by Chiaki Murata

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

photos by takumi ota

Homeswork is the new collaborative design unit between Drill Design (comprised of Yoko Yasunishi and Yusuke Hayashi) and architect Keiji Ashizawa. While, for obvious reasons, their portfolio is still scarce, I’m loving what I’m seeing. The Bookend table is made from a single sheet of iron that was then folded and cut. I think it would look great on a desk or even on a floor.

Related:

• Geographia by Drill Design
• 2 Courts by Keiji Ashizawa

click images to enlarge  | above courtesy of masahiro minami

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.

Today I wanted to share 2 potters that I recently discovered, both of whom are Japanese. They both create functional pottery yet stylistically they couldn’t be farther apart.

Thirty two-year old potter Ryota Aoki has had a fairly distinguished career so far. His work has appeared twice in the prestigious Takaoka Craft Competition – Bijoux, his 2nd attempt in 2005, won him the top prize. Bijoux went on to win silver at the 4th World Ceramic Biennial in 2007.

What I admire about Aoki’s work is that it possesses a strong energy that enhances the imagination of the user. The sculptural beauty is perhaps the one defining feature that sets Aoki’s work apart from his contemporaries.

Thanks for the tip Masako!

Related:

• Takaoka Crafts Competition 2009
• Birch Sake Bottle | Takaoka Crafts Competition 2008

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