2016 marked our 3rd year of operating the Spoon & Tamago shop and it finally feels like we’re getting the hang of things. Running an online shop, and doing everything in-house, poses several challenges, as we’ve discovered. But it enables us to reach out and form relationships with our favorite artists, makers and designers and be the bridge between them and the world. That gives us so much joy and is what keeps us going. With that said, here are the top 5 products we carry that our customers loved the most.
1. 100 Views of Tokyo
Our original blog post about illustrator Shinji Tsuchimochi’s 3-year project made it into our top 10 blog posts for the year. And the completed project, which was turned into a lovely book, was our most popular product for the year. We were honored to be able to work with Tsuchimochi and the fantastic folks at Shikaku Publishing to be the international distributor for this beautiful compilation of drawings of our favorite city.
2. Papa’s Maze
The Papa’s Maze is what originally kick-started our little shop 3 years ago, and it continues to be one of our most popular products. Created by Kazuo Nomura over 30 years ago, the hand-drawn maze was unearthed by his daughter when she was going through the attic. Later, at his daughter’s request, Nomura created another version of his intricate maze which is also equally popular.
3. Awaglass
Created by one of our favorite designers Norihiko Terayama, the Awaglass is a mesmerizing hourglass that replaces sand with bubbles. But don’t try and measure time. Its purpose is actually the opposite: to obscure and help you forget about time. Unlike uniformly shaped sand, large bubbles and small bubbles pass upwards at different speeds. You’ll get lost in this piece’s simple, poetic beauty.
4. Starry Sky Envelope
Technology is increasingly replacing the need for hand-written letters. And it’s also making the tiny stars in the sky harder to see as cities get brighter. But maybe that’s why our Starry Sky Envelopes are so popular. There’s still a way to light up the night sky, and show someone you care, all with one poetic envelope.
5. Floating Ripple Vase
Coming in 5th is another old-timer, the floating ripple vase designed by our friend Taku Omura. Cast from plastic resin, the ripple-shaped dish holds just a single flower and can be floated in almost any dish. The conventional flower display is a stationary one – grounded by a heavy vase or bottle. But the ripple vase changes this, allowing for a much more natural display of flowers. It’s as if the flower was blown into a small pond by the wind.
