It’s that time of the year again – the Salone Internazionale del Mobile is almost here, so this would probably be a good opportunity to share with some information regarding our Milan presentations, including an exclusive preview of our latest Origin part IV: Foster collection;

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Origin part IV: Foster is the result of our recent collaboration with Ibuki in Sonobe, Japan. The collection, consisting of wood and ceramic works, will be launched at Spazio Rossana Orlandi, via Matteo Bandello 14/16.

For an exclusive preview of the project, click here, or on the image above and insert the following password: fostersaloneprvw

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Also the In Between hand blown glass tableware collection we have designed for Inframince Inc., in collaboration with glass-studio Fresco, will have it’s international debut at Spazio Rossana Orlandi (same address as above..).
Click here, or on the image above for more information – several new images have been added to the page, making it even nicer to view the project once more..

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For those of you who didn’t have the chance to visit the Textielmuseum in Tilburg (but also for those of you who have had the chance!) and see our New Perspective project, we are pleased to invite you to a special presentation at the Consulate General of the Netherlands, Via G. Donizetti, 20 – in which some of our pieces will be displayed, along with others from the Turkish Red & More exhibition.
The presentation will be open during the whole week, with an opening reception on Monday, 8 April 2013, 19.30 – 23.00.

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Last, but not least – our Contrast fruit-bowls have been invited to participate in RAW / tech – and exhibition by Studiopepe for Valcucine Milano.

April 9 to 31 May
Valcucine Milano Piave / Spotti, Viale Piave 27

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We hope that you could join us in Milan – please contact us for appointments or any further inquiries!

Best wishes,

Boaz & Sayaka

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for your convenience we’ve prepared a little map with all the locations featuring our work during the upcoming Salone Internazionale del Mobile: http://goo.gl/maps/OyPX9

more details below..

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Origin part IV: Foster is the result of our recent collaboration with Ibuki in Sonobe, Japan. The collection, consisting of wood and ceramic works, will be launched at Spazio Rossana Orlandi, via Matteo Bandello 14/16.

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–

Also the In Between hand blown glass tableware collection we have designed for Inframince Inc., in collaboration with glass-studio Fresco, will have it’s international debut at Spazio Rossana Orlandi (same address as above..).

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For those of you who didn’t have the chance to visit the Textielmuseum in Tilburg (but also for those of you who have had the chance!) and see our New Perspective project, we are pleased to invite you to a special presentation at the Consulate General of the Netherlands, Via G. Donizetti, 20 – in which some of our pieces will be displayed, along with others from the Turkish Red & More exhibition.
The presentation will be open during the whole week, with an opening reception on Monday, 8 April 2013, 19.30 – 23.00.

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Last, but not least – our Contrast fruit-bowls have been invited to participate in RAW / tech – and exhibition by Studiopepe for Valcucine Milano.

April 9 to 31 May
Valcucine Milano Piave / Spotti, Viale Piave 27

click here for the e-flyer

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Foster is comprised of three series of crafted objects and is the result of our collaboration with Ibuki, a non-profit organization based in Sonobe, Nantan-city, Kyoto prefecture. Ibuki is a group of young master craftsmen from varying disciplines with the common goal of preserving Japan’s traditional crafts through education and practice. During our time in Sonobe we worked with two wood craftsmen, Kenta Kuzuhara and Kozo Sumitani, and one ceramicist, Hiroshi Nagai. Our desire in this collaboration was to develop design concepts that would challenge the skill set of each craftsman, while remaining pure in the aesthetic value and practical in use. The beauty of the materials, the honesty of the techniques, and the warmth we found in the masters of Ibuki are the inspiration for Foster.

All of the objects in the Foster collection are a direct result of the dedication and thoroughness of the Ibuki craftsmen. The attention to detail, and the willingness to learn and to be surprised by the possibilities of their craft, are qualities we wanted to capture in each series.

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The five wooden Foster cases are made from Kitayama Sugi, a cedar that is typical of Kyoto and is one of the most prestigious types of wood in Japan. The surface of each case is treated with Fuki-Urushi, a semi-transparent Urushi lacquer that darkens the wood and highlights the natural beauty of the grain. To emphasize the feeling of prestige surrounding the use of Kitayama Sugi, each case features a ‘slice’ of the raw, un-styled wood, paying homage to the long tradition and exclusivity of the material. The cases are constructed using joinery in the Kyoto style, meaning the mechanics of the joints are hidden inside the connected parts, and are not visible when viewing the object. Appearing simple at first glance, the cases hide a durability and detail that is the hallmark of traditional Japanese woodworking. The unique proportions of the objects pays homage to asymmetry, a quality that was typical of the traditional Japanese craft aesthetic, but became more rare as Japan’s idea of beauty shifted westward. Each case in this series opens in its own distinctive way. The case functions both as a storage place for precious objects, and as a stage for displaying the treasures within.

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All the ceramic pieces are hand-thrown. In many traditional ceramics from Japan, vessels are decorated with random dripping patterns. In each series we have played with the dripping and pouring of liquid-clay, before firing, letting it inform not only the aesthetic of the finished piece, but the function as well.

The Foster pouring vessels are composed of a sauce bowl, a salad bowl and a carafe. All three vessels are symmetrical in form, with two mirrored spouts on either side. The light-colored liquid clay is poured through one of the spouts before firing, and the resulting pattern is a permanent reference to the asymmetrical function of the vessel; one side for pouring, one side for holding. The spouts on the salad bowl function both as a carrying handles and useful nooks in which to rest serving utensils.

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The three Foster drinking cups are stacked together before liquid clay is dripped over the surface. The resulting pattern is what makes this series of ceramic vessels unique. When placed separately the dripped pattern is broken, giving each cup its own defining surface. When placed together the pattern in made complete. The quiet simplicity of the cups highlights the pureness and authenticity of the Japanese ceramic tradition, while simultaneously creating a modern take on this most ancient craft.

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with special thanks to:

Hiroki Takahashi
Hiroshi Nagai
Kenta Kuzuhara
Kozo Sumitani
Mami Ogura
Yoshiaki Kokufu
Mami Yamada
Hideaki Okamura
Tomoharu Shiiya
Aya Nakano
Keita Inoue
Salem van der Swaagh

(images by Tommy Fotografie)

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The Textielmuseum in Tilburg, the Netherlands, has invited us to browse through their magnificent archives. Ensuing, we have been commissioned to develop new pieces for the museum’s collection, inspired by our findings, using the TextielLab’s computer-controlled embroidery machine.

Our research of the background, applications, similarities and differences between handmade- and machine-embroidery has been followed by many experiments at the TextielLab. Embroidery on water-soluble background has particularly drawn our attention, as once washed, only the embroidered parts remain, resembling lace-like elements. Stretching the technique’s boundaries allowed us to reach results linking between the past and the present.

The traditional, richly laid dinner table and the festive feeling that it evokes became our starting point. Motifs such as artichokes, fruits, fish and shellfish, originating from the abundant spreads depicted in 17th-century Dutch masters still-lifes, were embroidered onto pristine white table linen.
Instead of the traditional, more realistic illustrations, we have used three-dimensional perspective grid-drawings, which occasionally continue off the textile’s boarders. The white embroidered elements appear to be laying on-, and at the same time, merge into the white fabric.

The series of table-linens consists of a table-cloth, table-runner and placemats, accompanied by napkin-rings with attachable letters, which allow the addition of custom initials, for a more personal touch.

New Perspectives is part of the Turkish Red & More exhibition, featuring works by Studio Formafantasma, Lenneke Langenhuijsen, Merel Boers and Minale Maeda.

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With special thanks to Frank de Wind, Aline Le Normand and Carmen Ng.

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The Textielmuseum Tilburg presents Turkish Red & More; designers and the museum collection.

Curated by Caroline Boot, the exhibition features projects by five dutch designers and design studios who found inspiration for new work in the rich collection of the museum. These budding talents include: BCXSY, Studio Formafantasma, Lenneke Langenhuijsen, Merel Boers and Minale Maeda.

With this exhibition, the Textielmuseum reflects the growing recognition in the design world for traditions, regional history and craftsmanship. Young designers were invited to develop a number of products using the museum collection as a source of inspiration. The TextielLab offered full use of its resources. The exhibition shows how delving into the past can lead to new designs.

For Turkish red & more, the designers browsed through the binding manuals of the Tilburg Textielschool. They rediscovered traditional knot-tying and macramé techniques, deciphered embroidery stitches and became fascinated with natural dyes from the madder plant.

However, the designers did not adopt the old techniques and traditions without adding their own twist. With a critical attitude and a sense of irony they comment on the history either directly or indirectly, break through conventions and focus on the story that they want to tell. Others are primarily led by the beauty of the antique textiles and the loving care with which they were made.

The exhibition will run from the 9th of February until the 26th of May 2013.

Our project New Perspectives has been commissioned by the Textile Museum for this exhibition.

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We are happy to invite you to Origins in Progress / 6 projects, 6 stories – our first solo exhibition in Japan at PANTALOON, Osaka.

The exhibition will open on November 17th 2012 and close on December 23rd 2012 and feature 5 existing collaboration projects along a new project which will be developed in Hyogo, Japan, while the duration of the exhibition.

More information can be found in the exhibition flyer, by clicking here..

The project is kindly supported by:

Dear Reader,

Not so long has passed since our last update and as already mentioned, we are now happy to invite you to our upcoming first solo exhibition in Japan, opening November 17th at PANTALOON, Osaka. See attached invitation or click on the image below for more information.

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In September this year we have been giving, together with Alfred von Escher, the workshop Somethinging at “A Better World” // Collateral Event of Biennale Architettura 2012, organized by studio427, Serra dei Giardini, Venice and curated by Raffaella Guidobono.

Now you can view a great little film from that workshop, made by Helmut Berta and Francesco Romito, by clicking on here or on the image below!

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And after the successful launch of our in between tableware for Inframince during Design Tide Tokyo, the whole tilde_objects 01 range will be presented at a special exhibition at the Inframince Space in Osaka – more information on that soon.

In the meantime, you can now view the whole collection by clicking here or on the image below..

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This is all for now, thank you for your continuous interest in our work!

Our very best wishes,

Boaz & Sayaka

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images © HUZI Design

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We are very happy to announce that the Forever Blanket, originally part of our FOREVER! collection is now produced and available at the new exciting children brand HUZI!

The Forever Blanket becomes a pillow, mattress, and blanket in one. Retreat into a world of natural softness with the eco-friendly and anti-bacterial bamboo textile.

Wrap oneself in continuity!

The Forever Blanket is available in two sizes and is suitable for both children and adults.

More information here: www.huzidesign.com

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we are happy to invite you to view our project in between, which will be launched during Design Tide Tokyo 2012 as part of tilde_objects 01 by inframince.

31/10-04/11

TOKYO MIDTOWN HALL A & B 9–7–2
Akasaka, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, Japan

some more information can be found here..

photography by Kiyotoshi Takashima

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Harmony and gradations in glass

One of the greatest appeals of hand-blown glass is the delicate balance between imperfection and near-perfection, reflecting both the nature of the material and the skills of the maker. Pieces which at first glance may appear identical reveal, upon closer inspection, slight variations in shape, color and dimensions, rendering each piece wholly unique.

In Between is a collection of hand-blown glass tableware. Drinking glasses, bowls, plates, and accessories of various types and sizes come in a six step gradation – from transparent to white. Rather than sand-blasting, the gradation is achieved through the application of varying amounts of white pigment during the process.

The subtle successive changes are enhanced through the use of the pieces and the way they harmoniously combine. Besides emphasizing the artistry required for reproducing such variations, this also encourages the exploration of different compositions and applications.

More playfulness and awe are now introduced to the table.

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This project was commission by inframince inc. and was executed by Fresco.

With special thanks to the Netherlands Embassy in Tokyo & Consulate General in Osaka.