Traditional arts & crafts
London Design Fair & Shoreditch Design Triangle
Posted on September 29, 2019 by Toothpicker
Please Be Seated is a large-scale installation designed by Paul Cocksedge, and it is made from more than 1,000 scaffolding planks. Cocksedge collaborated with Essex-based high-end interiors company White & White to re-imagine and re-use the building wood. The curvy seating encouraged passerby to sit and relax with their books or lap tops, which [...]
This post was posted in London, British designs, Business, Eco designs, Trade fairs, Design festivals & shows, Traditional arts & crafts, Contemporary craft, Design, ceramics & potteries, upcycled design and was tagged with London, eco designs, British design, contemporary crafts, London Design Festival, ceramics & potteries, London design fair, upcycled design, biomaterials
London design festival & Kengo Kuma at the V & A museum
Posted on September 24, 2019 by Toothpicker
Over the past few years, I have been quite disappointed with design industry's 'slow response' in tackling the sustainability issues, and felt the same way when I visited trade shows and exhibitions at the London design festival. Finally, things have changed this year. Sustainability and handmade crafts became the main focus of [...]
This post was posted in London, Architecture, Talks, Design festivals & shows, Traditional arts & crafts, Anything Japanese, Contemporary craft, Design, Contemporary, ceramics & potteries and was tagged with London, architecture, talks, contemporary crafts, London Design Festival, ceramics & potteries, sustainability, Kengo Kuma, V and A museum
Boro textiles at Amuse museum (closed in 2019)
Posted on November 1, 2018 by Toothpicker
Boro – real astonishment exhibition
After spending so much time in the rural countryside, I found it hard to cope with the hustle and bustle back in Tokyo, and felt slightly dazy and detached from reality. My original Airbnb booking was cancelled by a host in Tokyo at the last minute, (the 2nd [...]
This post was posted in Japanese designs, Tokyo, Exhibitions, Fashion, Travel, Art, Traditional arts & crafts, Anything Japanese, Design, Japanese art, Japan, Textiles, indigo dyeing, woodblock printing, Boro and was tagged with Tokyo, art and design exhibitions, fashion, museums, traditional crafts, Japanese art, Japan, textiles, indigo dyeing, Japanese craft, Japanese textiles, Boro, Amuse museum
Art, nature & permaculture in Fujino
Posted on October 30, 2018 by Toothpicker
Most foreigners who visit Japan tend to stick to big cities or well-known onsen/resorts, and they rarely travel to the rural parts of Japan. On this trip, I completely fell in love with Japan's rural countryside. The Kumano Kodo pilgrimage was a highlight, but I also loved Fujino, a rural town (with [...]
This post was posted in Japanese designs, Food & dining, Shopping, Travel, Nature, Eco living & sustainability, Art, Traditional arts & crafts, Anything Japanese, Contemporary craft, Hiking & walking, Design, Japanese art, ceramics & potteries, Japan, basketry and was tagged with hiking, Japanese designs, Food & dining, shopping, nature, eco living, Japanese art, Japan, pottery, Japanese craft, sustainability, Fujino, basketry, permaculture, transition town
Japanese textiles workshop (Part 2): Katagami & Katazome
Posted on October 28, 2018 by Toothpicker
Top: a visit and demonstration of katagami by the Ise-Katagami artisan Isao Uchida
Like I mentioned in my previous entry, my knowledge on traditional Japanese textiles techniques was quite minimal before the workshop. I have done some shibori techniques like itajime and pole wrapping, but I have never done any stitch shibori nor [...]
This post was posted in Japanese designs, Travel, Paper art & craft, Art, Traditional arts & crafts, Anything Japanese, Design, Japanese art, Japan, Textiles, indigo dyeing, Katazome, Katagami and was tagged with paper craft, traditional crafts, Japanese art, Japan, indigo dyeing, Japanese craft, Japanese textiles, katazome, katagami
Houkusai & Hirashige's ukiyo-e exhibition at MOA Atami
Posted on October 22, 2018 by Toothpicker
After my visit to Kyu Hyuga Bettei, I headed back to the train station to take a free shuttle bus to the MOA Museum of Art situated on the top of hill that overlooks the sea. Like Miho Museum in Kyoto, this private museum was opened in 1982 by the Mokichi Okada [...]
This post was posted in Exhibitions, Architecture, Travel, Art, Traditional arts & crafts, Anything Japanese, Japanese art, Contemporary, Japan, woodblock printing and was tagged with art and design exhibitions, Japanese art, contemporary architecture, Japanese architecture, woodblock printing, Atami, MOA Museum of Art, Hokusai, Hiroshige, ukiyo-e
Ainokura & Gokayama washi
Posted on October 5, 2018 by Toothpicker
Unlike Shirakawa-go in the Gifu prefecture, the remote Gokayama region in the Toyama prefecture is exempt from big bus tourism and seems to attrach more independent travelers. Even though the two areas are both declared as UNESCO world heritage sites, they are located in two different prefectures, and I have a feeling [...]
This post was posted in Architecture, Travel, Paper art & craft, Traditional arts & crafts, Anything Japanese, Architectural conservation, Japan, washi paper, Folk arts & Mingei and was tagged with folk arts & craft, Architectural conservation, Japanese architecture, washi paper, Ainokura, Gokayama
Kusakabe Folk Museum in Takayama
Posted on October 1, 2018 by Toothpicker
The view of the city from my room in the morning
I am not sure if it was due to the weather or flocks of tourists, but I was slightly disappointed with Takayama city centre after spending an afternoon walking around. Luckily, I woke up the next day and the clouds have cleared [...]
This post was posted in Architecture, Travel, Traditional arts & crafts, Anything Japanese, Architectural conservation, ceramics & potteries, Japan, Folk arts & Mingei and was tagged with Markets, traditional crafts, folk arts & craft, Architectural conservation, Japanese architecture, ceramics & potteries, Hida Takayama
24 hours in Hida Takayama
Posted on September 30, 2018 by Toothpicker
Stunning scenery of the mountains during the train journey to Takayama
Even though I am familiar with unpredictable weather, I wasn't fully prepared for the fluctuation of temperatures and weather while traveling around Japan. For the first 10 days of my trip in the Kansai region, I experienced exceptional warm and sunny weather [...]
This post was posted in Architecture, Travel, Traditional arts & crafts, Anything Japanese, Architectural conservation, Japan, woodblock printing, Folk arts & Mingei and was tagged with traditional crafts, folk arts & craft, Japan, Japanese architecture, woodblock printing, Hida Takayama
Mino – the ancient washi paper town
Posted on September 22, 2018 by Toothpicker
The preserved townscape of Minoshi
I think many people who are interested in Japanese paper would have heard of Mino washi paper, especially after it was was designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2014. The origin of this paper dates back to the Nara period (710 ~ 784 CE), and is [...]
This post was posted in Architecture, Travel, Traditional arts & crafts, Anything Japanese, Architectural conservation, Japan, washi paper and was tagged with Japan, Architectural conservation, Japanese architecture, Mino, washi paper