photos by Koichi Torimura | click to enlarge
You’ve heard of weekend homes, right? Well meet FIKA, a weekend shop that functions as the shop owner’s residence during the rest of the week.
The brand new multi-purpose building was completed about 2 months ago under the wings of ON Design Partners, whose job it was, among other things, to maximize the ultra-tiny 355 sq ft (10 tsubo) plot of land. The shop is located in a quiet neighborhood of Toshima, Tokyo where the owner’s collection of Scandinavian antiques and household items, goes on sale on Saturdays and Sundays.
The entrance to FIKA, which means “coffee break” in Swedish, is prominently displayed on the corner, while a private entrance is located around back.
The 2-story structure features a high-rise shelf that, at the bottom, functions as the main display shelf for the store. But towards the top, as it stretches into the private residence, it carries the day-to-day objects that the owner uses as well. But as it turns out, within this quaint little shop, there is a thin line between product and object.
The owner’s collection is comprised of objects they have collected over the years, each with its own history and story. The process of customers coming in to shop, the owner says, is something akin to “meeting” an object, rather than “buying.”
source: ON Design Partners
