Metal artist Yuichi Takemata got his start apprenticing at a jewelry atelier to learn the craft of jewelry making. He later went independent, designing and producing his own work and eventually opening a small retail shop in Kanazawa.
A chance meeting with Urushi artist Akito Akagi led to Takemata’s eventual collaborations with many other artisans and his production of a series of handmade cutlery and tableware.
Contact us for sizes and prices.
We assisted Wallpaper* magazine in putting together some Japanese ironware products for a special feature in their April Global Design issue. As part of their project, Wallpaper* commissioned London based illustrator Noma Bar, to do a series of eight different covers for the various regions featured in the issue. The images are quite clever and the content sometimes not immediately obvious. It is amazing how beautifully he incorporated products from each region into the illustration for each cover.
For the Japanese cover he used Babghuri’s Ink seal box for lips and and an iron ashtray from ES for eyes. Both items are available in the ironware page on our site here.
The covers are available as a series of limited edition posters at wallpaper.com.
An Exhibition of Works by ES and Douguya
Nambu Ironware craftsman Rikuchou Ogasawara passed away last month, at the age of 83. Ogasawara was a master craftsman who had been practicing his art for over than 50 years. His moderns designs were always ahead of their time and his work had a broad appeal which generated an interest in Nambu ironware among many in and out of Japan.
Ogasawara’s designs will continue to be produced at his workshop in Iwate.
Horn Bookends, ¥11,000
Iron Kettle, ¥13,700
News stools will be in the shop in Spring 2012
Stools by George Peterson.
Hiroyuki Watanabe studied the craft of Urushi ( Japanese lacquer) during his undergraduate years before receiving his masters degree in Industrial Arts from the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts. He has since been teaching, holding workshops on woodcraft and authored a book, while also producing and exhibiting his handmade utensils and tableware.
See Hiroyuki Watanabe’s work in the online shop here
Dry flower vases. Cherry with colored urushi (lacquer)
Wood plates
Watanabe's book offers 14 lessons on creating simple wooden tableware.
After completing his studies in philosophy, Urushi (lacquerware) artist Akito Akagi worked as an editor for kateigaho magazine where he wrote about art and design. Encounters with lacquer masters Azuma Hideo and Kado Isaburô inspired him to pursue his interest in the craft and he began an apprenticeship with the lacquer master Okamoto Susumu.
Akagi founded his own workshop in 1994 and now has several apprentices himself. His work has been exhibited throughout Japan and has admirers both in Japan and abroad.
Akagi’s work is functional rather than merely decorative and includes everything from furniture, to tableware and spoons. He has also been an avid practitioner of the Way of Tea for many years and often creates tools for Tea Ceremony.
Magewappa is one of the most beautiful examples of traditional Japanese woodcraft. Akita cedar from 200-year-old trees is stripped, boiled, bent and tied together with bark from cherry trees. Only Akita cedars over 100 hundred years old, which have survived the very severe weather conditions of northern Japan, can be bent in the manufacturing process. The wood has a beautiful straight grain which is accentuated by the curves in the finished products.
Yoshinobu Shibata and his son Yoshimasa represent two generations of Magewappa artisians that are carrying on the tradition, producing both traditional wares and contemporary products that reflect modern tastes and needs.
Bento (lunch) Box ¥13,650 Buttercase ¥7,350 Available here
Atushi Honda ( Kobo Isado) uses a variety of repurposed woods to produce his simple, beautifully textured cutting boards. We also love his little wooden houses and plan to have some in the shop this autumn.
