Traditional Sights in Japan

Here are some more shots from our trip to Japan.  Click through to flickr to see more details about each one.  The images show the Chrysanthemum festival at Shinjuku Gaien, traditional structures at Engakuji in Kamakura, hiking in Kamakura, and incense and decorations at the Sensoji in Tokyo.

(oops! some of the images aren’t up on flickr yet, so you can’t click through all the images yet, should be uploading more on monday after the Bust Craftacular)

tokyo part 2

We had a week in Tokyo after the finish of 100% design to tour the city.  We got to visit a lot of contemporary buildings that I had always wanted to see.  Here are a couple of my pictures.  From left to right: Tod’s by Toyo Ito, Prada by Herzog & de Meuron, Swatch by Shigeru Ban, Nagakin Capsule Tower by Kurokawa, International Forum by Viñoly, and the Design Festa building.

Seeing these buildings in person wasn’t actually much more impressive then seeing them on paper.  We found the traditional architecture we visited much more impressive.  Some images of that coming in tokyo part 3.

Tokyo!

We went to Tokyo to exhibit at the 100% Design show in Jingu Gaien with designboom.  I was surprised by how different the show was from ICFF but overall it was a good experience.  At the show we met the shop chief of the Mori Arts Center museum shop in Roppongi Hills and she really liked our rubber and felt designs!  So I am happy to annouce that you can now buy our works at the Mori Arts Center museum shop.

I found the Roppongi Hills development to be pretty exciting actually although I heard many people talking negatively about it.  The area is one of the largest property developments in Japan owned and built by the Mori company which is also one of the country’s most generous patrons of the arts.  The museum is in the main tower of the development and seems to be considered one of the most important venues for contemporary art in Tokyo.  Certainly our work has never been featured at such a prominent location.  The shop features a great mix of work, largely by japanese designers/artisans.  It was great to see a completely new set of products distinct from the pieces I see over and over again at the MOMA design shop and similar stores.

Below are some quick shots I took of the mori arts center / mori tower and opposing them is Murakami’s optimistic, fantastical and positively explosive rendering of the tower complete with friendly dinosaur unicorns and field of smiling flowers.  I snagged this one as a poster for a couple dollars, score!

You can also find our work at 17dixsept design gallery in the Daikanyama area of Tokyo

Nervous System in Tokyo!

Nervous System will exhibit at the designboom mart at the 100% design tokyo 2008. This is our third show with designboom and probably our last. Previously, we joined them at ICFF 2008 in New York City and the Sydney Design Festival 2008 in Sydney, Australia. I know that we will have a lot of fun so please come visit us if you live in Tokyo.   The show is taking place at Jingu Gaien in Aoyama October 30th to November 3rd.

We will be debuting a couple of new products at the show, including some colorful necklaces made of 100% wool felt. We will have 2 design, each in 4 colors: fuschia, bright orange, light grey, and black. These are some images of our first necklace we made when we were testing out the material, the finished designs are quite different!