While designers and engineers may associate developing products with blood sweat and tears, Oki Sato, founder of acclaimed Japanese design firm Nendo, found a way to celebrate the design process in the form of a simple and sweet children’s book—with a cup as its main character. Not Just a Cup tells the story of a…
There is something zen-like about products that require no hardware to assemble (we’re looking at you, IKEA). It’s as if those materials and parts were created for the sole purpose of existing as the components of a seamless assembly. The Lo1 lamp from Chilean industrial designer Emmanuel Gonzalez is one of those products. With a…
Known for kamaboko fish cakes and traditional woodcraft, the town of Odawara, located in the western Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan, is a woodworkers paradise with expansive wooded areas and a history rooted in centuries-old woodworking traditions. Deep in that forest—in a repurposes shrine—sits the Japanese wood houseware manufacturer brand Hikiyose. Known for their unique aesthetic…
At age 80, fourth generation Japanese toymaker Masaaki Hiroi still cranks out classic wood toys from his workshop where he has spent a lifetime mastering his craft. While many might be worried about retirement and slowing down during their eighth decade, Hiroi continues to keep his mind and hands active doing what he loves to…
Unless you’re a true toast and marmalade connoisseur, chances are you pay little mind to your toaster aside from a somewhat considered industrial design that may or may not match the rest of your kitchen appliances. Either way, your toaster is toast. Enter Balmuda the Toaster. Priced at a hefty 24,000 yen ($230 – or…
It’s not easy to take on the task of improving upon one of the world’s most simple and well-loved toy building block designs – particularly if that building block is LEGO. For Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, however, creating their modernist “Japanese LEGO” wasn’t just about building a new toy; it was also about communicating an…
For most of us, a dropped ceramic mug or plate might mean a one-way ticket for the broken vessel to the trash bin. For Tokyo-based designer Yusuke Seki however, they would likely be added to his collection of ‘shinikiji’ – the Japanese term for flawed pieces. Recently, the Japanese designer – who has worked with…
As more small and medium-sized businesses continue to find success – both financially and in terms of testing a market – using crowdfunding methods, it would only seem natural that larger companies would also want to take advantage of ‘expanded focus groups’ in order to test the viability of a product concept before dumping thousands…
Founded in 2002 by a group of architecture graduates who had recently visited the Milan Design Fair, Nendo has since become an internationally-renowned multidisciplinary design studio that’s been responsible for everything from mug designs for Starbucks and retail design for Camper shoes to ice cream cakes for Häagen-Dazs and furniture designs for Cappellini. Named after…
After moving from Japan to LA in 1999, a young Shin Okuda held a variety of different jobs over the following couple of years before finding work with a sculptor who also happened to do furniture pieces. After spending countless hours in the studio absorbing the various woodworking techniques and studying designers, Okuda set out…
Back in the late 20’s and 30’s, Japan was establishing their Folk Art movement (Mingei) due in no small part to philosopher Yanagi Soetsu. Yanagi became enamored with Korean crafts and soon after began ‘rescuing’ lowly pots used by commoners in the Edo and Meiji eras and found them to be beautiful in their own…
If you’ve ever been to a sushi restaurant, chances are you’ve come in contact with the all-natural decorative and protective coating known as Urushi. Sourced from Urushi trees, this ‘natural wonder’ material was first used as an adhesive when making spears and arrows back in the stone age. Today, the liquid is applied to everything…
As a dog owner, I am constantly on the lookout for dog products that aren’t your run-of-the-mill, ‘bought it at PetsMart’ variety. Sadly, very few products actually exist for dog owners that reflect rock-solid design ideals (and no, I don’t need a Gucci dog collar). For those looking to step outside of the realm of…
Invented just one year after the invention of Scotch tape in 1930, the tape dispenser is a unique package design-tool hybrid that can be found in just about every household. Due to the frustration of finding the loose end of tape on a roll, 3M Engineer John A. Borden invented the serrated-edge dispenser to keep…