Wabi-sabi: Japanese simplicity

Captivating Wabi-sabi inspiration from the Japanese Magazine Casa Brutus. Read more about beauty of imperfection and the Japanese aesthetics in one of my previous posts: Wabi-sabi.

via: Wabi Sabi Style and Old Chum

Splinter Collection by Nendo

Some haiku poetry... New furniture collection from Japanese studio Nendo, designed for Conde House, a manufacturer based in Japan’s famous wooden furniture region - Asahikawa.

www.nendo.jp

photos: Yoneo Kawabe, more designs by Nendo here and here

Minim chair

Hot news from Japan: stackable Minim chair designed by team Nosigner. And if I am right... inspired by classic danish pieces with leather straps?

photo: Hatta Masaharu

Miyake lamp by Arihiro Miyake

Intriguing lamp design by Japanese Arihiro Miyake, where the balance has been reversed: the base has become the main interest point and the source of light seems very modest. The right angle can be adjusted by turning the polyhedron-shaped base. Less is definitely more...

Miyake lamp is produced by Moooi Netherlands.

Thin Black Lines exhibition

Japanese design studio Nendo presents an exquisite collection entitled Thin Black Lines at the Saatchi Gallery in London. The exhibition is open until October 31st, so if you are around, drop by!

read more about the exhibition here: Thin Black Lines by Nendo

Living Divani: Family Chair, Drop table, Pasticca sofa and Garden plate table

Family Chair collection (2010) from Living Divani caught my eye a while ago - fun and unpretentious design with beautiful graphic outlines. The chairs compose nicely with translucent Drop table (2010) that distorts the shapes behind and plays with our perception of space. Both designs were created by Junya Ishigami, a talented Japanese architect.

Pasticca (2010), modular seating system by Piero Lissoni is worth noticing as well. It allows to create endless compositions of sofas and lounge sets. Rounded shapes, pleasing to the eye, fit elegantly in open-space interiors.

Garden plate (2010) is another great design by Junya Ishigami - a low, translucent table meant to be an “out-of-scale” home garden. I love the idea!

www.livingdivani.it

photos T. Sartori, styling Carin Scheve

Thin Black Lines by Nendo

Thin black lines, a furniture collection by Japanese design studio Nendo will be presented together with Phillips de Pury & Company at the Saatchi Gallery in London this fall. The designers describe:

"Outlines were the theme of this collection. Slight black lines like the traces of sketches drawn in the air made transparent surfaces and volumes appear, which we assigned practical functions. The outlines remained after simplifying paintings of plants and animals. They are condensed expressions of meaning, similar to Japanese calligraphy. The designs gently break the relationship of before and behind, and traverse at times the space between two and three dimensions. Multi-faceted and constantly morphing, they move alternately between the becoming and collapse of form."

www.nendo.jp

via: Dezeen, photos by Masayuki Hayashi

Ryuji Nakamura

Subtle, ethereal designs and instalations of Japanese architect Ryuji Nakamura take us to the world of silence and contemplation. The works are elaborately constructed from very fragile materials, like paper and ribbons. And not without a sense of humour!

www.ryujinakamura.com

24 Issey Miyake shop by Nendo

Tokyo- and Milan- based Nendo has recently completed the interior of 24 Issey Miyake shop. The design has been based on innovative product display system: variable-height vertical steel rods. Nendo drew inspiration from the Miyake's new Bilbao bag, that has no set form and changes its shape depending on the surface beneath.

"Supported by 'points', rather than by surfaces or lines, the bags seem to waft in the air like flowers in a light breeze, creating the illusion of a field of flowers in the store."

photos via: designboom, photographer: Daici Ano

Target Bookcase by Nendo

Nendo is a young Japanese design office based in Tokyo and Milan, established by Oki Sato in 2002. The company won several prestigious design awards.

'Target' is an extraordinary modular bookcase designed for Italian furniture manufacturer Arketipo. Nendo come up with new way of storage: instead of on standard horizontal shelves, books are placed on array of small crosses. The crosses work as bookends as well, allowing even thin magazines or a small number of books to stand on their own. 

Once more I'm amazed how creative Japanese designs are: 'Target' bookcase is not only modular unit, it can be also used standing on any side.

www.nendo.jp