Gen-emon is one of the most renowned Arita-yaki porcelain kilns, with a 260-year history dating to 1753. We undertook an unorthodox re-edit of one of the kiln’s most famous patterns, a small plum flower repeat known as ‘ume komon’. Like children playing with paper, we blew up the pattern until it was enormous, as though viewed through a magnifying glass. We cut it up with scissors, pasted it, lined it up, turned it upside down and layered it, too.

This faux-naïve strategy allowed us to activate Gen-emon’s key visual signifiers – the blue and white underglaze and strong contrast between the dark and light blues – while developing a rich assortment of variations. The result: a delightful selection of ceramics that may have different patterns, but can be used together on the table without breaking visual unity. Traditionally, Gen-emon’s porcelains are made by drawing the outlines, then filling in the centre. We introduced a charcoal-based resist method, ‘sumi hajiki’, that allows both fine lines and an accessible price for the consumer. The ume-play collection upholds Gen-emon’s long history and traditions and reflects the kiln’s commitment to constant change and evolution.

These electrical outlet covers let you put your mobile phone on the wall as it recharges. The antlers for all three types of deer are already the perfect shape to hold things, so we hardly had to modify the forms at all. The tough urethane rubber we used for the cover holds handsets tightly, and also protects the antlers from breakage should you bump into them. Socket-deer can also be used as a cover for light switches, and the antlers make an excellent hook for keys or accessories.

For four centuries, the town of Obama in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, has manufactured lacquered chopsticks. Obama’s lacquered chopsticks have been recognised as the hardest and most beautiful of Japanese lacquer chopsticks since the seventeenth century, when they became known as Wakasa-nuri. We designed new chopsticks in collaboration with Hashikura Matsukan, a manufacturer who continue Obama’s traditional manufacturing techniques today. Chopsticks ordinarily come in pairs, but the Rassen chopsticks are a single unit. They are separated into two for eating, then rejoined into one form when not in use. We used the artisans’ hand skills and a multi-axis CNC miller to create these unusual chopsticks.

An umbrella whose handle makes it not only stable when in use, but able to stand on its own when turned on its handle, hang securely from tables and stay propped up on a wall when not in use. A strap ensures that the umbrella hangs safely on the arm, too. The umbrella comes in eight different colours, all with a surface coating that reduces UV rays by 90%.

nendo: A carpet whose form, colour and size can change flexibly thanks to its parts: small overlapping pieces like fish scales or roof tiles.

Nichetto: You can’t make the entire carpet out of individual parts or it will be cumbersome to assemble. We made units out of two, three and four overlapping circles, so that they’re relatively easy to assemble and provide colour variation. 
If the pieces are too thick, they would have been bulky when layered, so we explored extremely thin, high quality materials. The result: since the carpet has so many connecting points, it’s ideal for concealing the home appliance, lighting, phone charger and other electrical cables that overflow in modern daily life.

nendo: A sofa like an archipelago, divided into small parts rather than one great mass.

Nichetto: Taking the way that Venice’s many islands are connected by narrow bridges as the image, we designed thin legs that seem to float on the water surface and connected the cushions. We also developed side tables in two different shapes.

The ability to freely arrange the sofa’s components give it a floating feeling and make it ideal for home and contract use alike.

Nichetto: Partitions are good for dividing a space, but how about adding extra functional value? The motif: the electrical wiring that keeps a car’s rear window from fogging up.

nendo: Translating the electrical wiring’s form into a three-dimensional metal frame connects the parts and creates a free-standing structure, even without a large, heavy base.

We attached highly stretchable fabric diagonally to the frame. This reduces the sight lines moderately but also creates openings here and there, ultimately minimising the overall sense of pressure, and also allows the user to freely change the shape of the shelves.

Nichetto: Ice candies come in different flavours, shapes and colours. What about a lighting fixture that combines the rich variety of ice candies with their beauty when held up to light?

nendo: Carving the ends of 12mm diameter Japanese cypress posts flat like ice candy sticks gave them a slighter impression. Then we needed material for a lampshade to suit the extremely light post, so we developed an original material by dyeing traditional Japanese paper made in an unusual three-dimensional process.

When lit, the lamp’s soft light makes the paper fibres stand out, and each colour brings a subtly different character. A design that captures the delight and surprise of ice candies.

nendo: Wedge a candle into the fissure in a lump of material, and use it as a candle holder. Because we can change the width of the fissure at will, the holder can accommodate candles of all shapes and sizes.

Nichetto: The candleholder even looks like a ‘lump of matter’ when not in use, and there’s such contrast with the sharp edge of the break. It’s a gentle form like a serving vessel.

We were aiming for a design that would take full advantage of the inherent characteristics of the material, for example its ability to be stabilised by its own weight and the friction with the surface, so we chose two materials for the piece: a glass-coated brass and a matte-finished marble.

Place many small shelves together to make some of the shelves into bookends, and create tiny and tantalizing spaces just waiting for something to be placed on them.

Nichetto: Wrapping those shelves in a large, flexible silhouette turned them into a speech bubble, the kind that appears by a manga character’s head as he imagines something.

Sheets of glass with a satin-finished front and coated back give the shelves the transparency and softness of a speech bubble floating in mid-air. Shelves that seem synchronized with the mind of their owner, once loaded with books and objects.