Meet the Designers & Artists

Meet Some of the Japanese Designers, Artists and Companies

+d is a company dedicated to translating the ideas of designers into products. Most of the items are designed with a sense of fun but all are entirely practical and provide solutions for our modern lifestyle. +d is a brand of interior decorating items collaboratively designed by h concept ( pronounced "ash concept") and interior designers.+d designers carefully nurture their concepts, from the first seed of an idea until its final blossoming, making sure that the feelings of the product's designer are passed on to anyone who encounters it.+d believes that because we are surrounded by "things" in our modern lives that we should understand and enjoy the stories behind their products. They aim to deliver heart and soul into products for the 21st century.

Photo Hanger

Designed by Japanese designer Juta Kanhe who was born in 1984 in Chiba Prefecture and in 2004 entered the Art and Design Department of Meisei University's Faculty of Japanese Culture. He wants to use product design to bring smiles, joy, and surprises to the people of the world. Of the Photo Hanger, he states: Nothing is sadder than having to make holes in your favourite photos when you hang them up. Instead of using thumbtacks, use a Photo Hanger! Because it's shaped like a hanger, it's perfectly natural to have it hanging photos on your wall, and they'll even make your room a little cuter and more fashionable.

Bulb Cup

Designers Tetsu Sumil and Soshi Takita both have a B.A. from Musashino Art University in Tokyo and Soshi also has a M.A. from Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music. Describing the Bulb Cup they explain: "A light bulb is cut across to create a beautiful shape that can be transformed into a designer product. Adjusting the normal perception of this casual, everyday item that really is cut from a light bulb allows us to find our own multiple uses for this wonderful creation. It can be used to display knick-knacks, hold paper clips, be a vase or even a tiny flowerpot or a drinking glass. So many uses for something so familiar!

Furoshiki (Origami Bag)

Designers Genta and Chie Kanayama both graduated from Kuwasawa Design School and formed genta design co., ltd in 2004. Their designs encompass furniture, home products, packing, space and graphic design.The genta design team wanted to re-introduce this very functional item to a younger generation.

Tube Door Stopper

Tetsuo Shibuya is a young freelance designer who began his career designing household goods, focusing on finding different uses for items, for everyday products. His fun little tube-shaped doorstop that holds doors firmly in place is evidence of this.

Splash

Yasuhiro Asano established the Asano Design School in 1979. Mr Asano is a graphic and interior designer who has won numerous design awards and competitions. He has received numerous design awards over the years and has also been designated a judge of some major international design awards. Mr Asano explores the duality of primitive and high-tech design and this tension is often seen in his design work.

Goony

Takafumi Nemoto (known as Pore) describes his creative thought process when designing the Goony: Conventional jewellery cases were designed to store accessories in a concealed box. However,accessories were meant to be adorned and flaunted, isn't it a waste to hide them away in a box? This simple question is what inspired me to design a jewelry case that is meant to display its contents by wrapping, hanging or pulling jewelry through it―just as you would when you adorn yourself with it. Bend the ends to form different shapes for various uses. Not only can you place or hang your jewelry on it, but you can also use it for holding a pen or inserting a memo."GOONY" is more than just a tray―it's a metamorphic creature.

Green Pin

JoonHyun Kim was born in 1983 in Seoul, Korea, majoring in Industrial Design at Konkuk University. He received the bronze prize in the 2008 Muji International Design Competition, and was also awarded the bronze prize in the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards exhibition. His design philosophy is to find solutions by embracing subtle shortcomings in life. He designs for the Japanese design company +d. JoonHyun comments: "This pushpin resembles a sprouting plant with a unique shape that keeps the needle from facing upwards if dropped. I designed it with the innocence of a sprout emerging from concrete in mind."

Picnica

Tomohiro Kato was born in Aichi prefecture in 1985, and has received various awards including being selected by Kenzo Takada at the 80th So-en Awards. Satoshi Hasegawa was born in Aichi prefecture in 1986, and has received awards including second place at the 2001 Muji Awards. Both designers said that the Picnica was created in hope that people will care for objects in the same way they embrace living creatures. They would love people to embrace Picnica the way children embrace their toys.

Animal Index

Born in Niigata prefecture in 1973, Hiroshi Sasagawa moved to Italy after graduating from the department of design at the Tokai University School of Art and Technology. He worked at a design office in Milan, and was involved in the design of booths, showrooms, and many other design projects. He currently lives in Asahikawa and lectures at the Tokai University School of Art and Technology. In 2004, he won the Azumi prize in the Kokuyo Design Awards and the grand prize in the Yupo Design Awards.

Kusa

Hiromi Taki graduated from the ceramics course in the Art Department of Saga Art College and in 2004 started "SWITCH DESIGN". In 2006, he graduated from the Design Department of Tama Art University's Faculty of Art and Communication. Tomonori Oohata graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Department of Musashi Institute of Technology's Faculty of Engineeringand was a co-founder of SWITCH DESIGN in 2004 with Hiromi Taki. In 2005 he graduated from the Design Department of Tama Art University's Faculty of Art and Communication. I could always see green mountains and rice fields from the windows of my family's home, and I loved looking out at the sprawling green landscape. In particular, I always thought that summer rice plants looked beautiful as they swayed in the breeze, and thought it would be wonderful if this feeling could be recreated in a product that you could have around your house.

Fusen Flower Bookmarks

Natsuko Kurosawa was born in 1979, in the Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. After studying fashion and graphic design, she began work at a graphic design office. She began creating things in 2003 with the concept that work is finished when the user is pleased. She was inspired by nature in the design of the Fusen Flower bookmarks: "As if you were tearing a real flower, with the turn of each petal label, a fun, yet delicate sensation is born. This sensation makes you think about appreciating the labels that we use so wastefully. Display them in a glass, keep them in your pen stand, flower labels that bring life to your day."

1/100 Architectural Model Series

Naoki Terada is an architect, designer, modeler and culinary specialist! Born in 1967, he has graduated from the Architectural Department, School of Science & Technology, Meiji University and completed the diploma course of the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA school) in the United Kingdom.In 2003, he established Terada Design, a first-class architect office and in 2011, the TERADA MOKEI company was born.

Fog Linen Work

While performing the daily chores at home, you might as well scrub in comfort and style. Yumiko Sekine, founder of Fog Linen Work, treasures simplicity and embraces practicality with her iconic fashions for the home. All Fog Linen Work objects are produced in Lithuania where flax has been grown for generations.