art, somewhere in between New York and Tokyo

Looking to pimp your iPhone in 400-year old bling? Maruwakaya has designed an iPhone cover made from Inden, a process dating back to the early edo period when artisans used tanned deerskin to make shoes and pouches. The design, which reorients traditional crafts as an evolving modern technique, was originally showcased during Design Tide ’09 in Tokyo.

They are available in 4 traditional Japanese patterns, and two colors, black or yellow. Black goes for 11,000 yen while yellow is 12,500 yen. The limited editions are being shipped on February 1, 2010 and you have to fill out this form if you want to get in line.

left: Asanoha | right: Takarazukushi

left: Asanoha | right: Takarazukushi

Here is your tid-bit for the day: there is only one man in all of Japan who is an official Inden artisan, with a license from the state. (according to wikipedia)

via voice of kyoto

I realize that “sculptor” may not be the most accurate description of Mitsuru Katsumoto but I dislike the term “multimedia artist” so indulge me in my peculiarities as I attempt to convey my thoughts about the artist. Mitsuru Katsumoto was born 1961 in Shiga Prefecture. Her first exhibition took place at Gallery Eve in 1995 and was aptly titled “Secret Garden.” Since then her work has revolved around the curious and mysterious, often offering sneak peeks into her secretive world of eye-catching details and anachronistic furnishings.

click to enlarge. Courtesy Galleria Graffica Tokyo

clockwise: poster for a field, a home (2007) | living things-flora (2004) | a field, a home (2007)

Katsumoto walks an interesting line between cute and surreal and maintains, I might add, just enough cuteness to remain within the mainstream likings of the Japanese. Furthermore, by including French-Antique charm to the formula she is practically guaranteeing herself a fan-base. That’s not to undermine her work in any way though. There is no doubt in my mind that Katsumoto creates beautiful pieces that keep me coming back to them time after time.

click to enlarge

top: a study in green grass (2002) | all other images part of the “Odd” collection

Her latest exhibition “Odd,” which concluded late last year at the Yukiko Koide gallery, was an ode to some of the more hand-made oddities of her career. I particularly enjoy her vintage postcards – probably the quirkiest of her work.

click to enlarge. Courtesy Mademoiselle Loulou

Finally, here is a sneak peak into 2 of her photo books that she has published. At the top is Study In Green (2008), an intimate exploration into everything from animal fur to boxes, that are, of course, green or dyed green. Below that is One Day (2007), a compilation of Katsumoto’s early work. Both are fascinating meditations on the relationship between art and design.

click to enlarge. Courtesy milebooks

This clever design done for the holiday season somehow slipped under my radar and into one of my wife’s magazines. The Bottle Baguette (3,700 yen), by Japanese haute couture heavyweight Issey Miyake, is a essentially pretty packaging for a wine bottle to be used when attending dinner parties. The packaging then remains on the bottle, which can be transformed into a flower vase.

Related:

• Issey Miyake packaging boxes by Shun Kawakami

This weekend New York was hit with a bout of cold weather. All the stations were hyping it as the coldest temperatures of the winter so far. We figured, if not now, when do we succumb to the corrupt border-town sheriff, also known as central heating? So we reluctantly flipped on the switch and, as we heard the motor begin to hum, immediately sensed the iron hand descend, securing us from the outside frost for the price of every last penny of moisture.

We have yet to find a humidifier that we like because every crappy one becomes a cesspool of bacteria within days. And all the other ones are either too bulky, too ugly or too expensive. Until today. Meet Mast, an exquisite creation of pure Hinoki (Japanese Cypress), recently designed by Shin Okada and crafted by Masuya Koubou. Known for its high-quality timber, rot-resistant qualities and lemony scent, the thinly sliced Hinoki mast absorbs water from the hull and diffuses it, and its intrinsic aroma, into the room. And it goes without saying, but no electricity needed.  I am willing to bet money that it will look more elegant than the damp washcloth draped over my ceiling fan.

You can purchase it here (Japanese) for 6,300 yen.

For all you late-bloomers and procrastinators still looking to get your 2010 on, check out this beautiful calendar by Japanese illustrator Nobumasa Takahashi. Recognize the name or the work? That is because he you know him as the illustrator of the brilliant Art Space Tokyo, by Ashley Rawlings and Craig Mod.
The calendar is on sale at Cibone for 2,300 yen.

Yuji Nakae of Nakae Architects, along with the help from Hirofumi Ohno and Yamada Hiroyuki, created MM Apartment in Tokyo. Approximately 2 years since the completion of their last building, the highly acclaimed NE Apartment, the 8 unit structure comes with Nakae’s signature style of incorporating indoor parking for your bicycle or motorcycle, which I am sure there are plenty of people in Tokyo who can appreciate.

MM Apartment was completed back in September of 2009 but the architects just recently released photos of their work.

Each unit has 3 floors but with different layouts. Some have the bathrooms located on the first floor while others have them on the 3rd. Here is a walk-through of some of the units. Above is a shot of the entrance and ground level bike parking.

Above are 2 shots of room A – the stairs leading from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor, and the dining room/kitchen located on the 2nd floor. Below we have 2 shots from room B – the 2nd floor bathroom and 3rd floor kitchen.

Below are 2 shots of room C – the ground level entrance and bathroom, and the 2nd floor bedroom.

Below is a shot of room F’s 2nd floor bathroom.

All photographs © Hiroyasu Sakaguchi

just in case you were wondering….
via the considered ensemble

During the summer of ‘09 we featured these awesome canvasworks by husband-and-wife design duo Noto Fusai. Well they have recently added 2 new pieces to their collection of functional wall-art. A rack/holder for odds and ends like glasses and cellphones, and this letter rack, which I am totally getting my hands on as soon as they come out of production.

Object holder

Letter rack

Related:

• CanvasWorks by Noto Fusai
• Shikisai t-shirts by Noto Fusai

In order to counteract his plummeting popularity, as of January 1, 2010, Yukio Hatoyama – the prime minister of Japan – has set up a blog and twitter account in order to reach out to the general public. It was all done under the creative direction of Yuji Tokuda (I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t include that tid-bit of design intel), who incorporated the pigeon into the design. Hatoyama literally means pigeon mountain.

Tokuda has added a disclaimer on his website saying he is not affiliated with, nor does he necessarily support, the Democratic Party of Japan.

Related:

• I LOHAS by Yuji Tokuda
• Yuji Tokuda for Suntory
• Yuji Tokuda | Art Director
• Retired Weapons by Yuji Tokuda

Late in 2009 Dezeen exhibited their favorite Designer Christmas cards. Despite Christmas’ commercial success in Japan, the New Year is really the holiday that takes the cake in Japan. So with that ever-so-brief introduction I give you, designer new year cards: Japan Edition.

Tokujin Yoshioka

Yuji Tokuda

Bob Foundation

Masahiro Minami

TNA Design Studio

CASE-REAL