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Kokeshi dolls by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

Yesterday during Tokyo Designers Week designer Ronan Bouroullec and Japanese architect Kengo Kuma presented their collaboration for the East Japan Project which the latter started after the Fukushina disaster in 2011. The inspirational project aims to get the artisans of the region back on their feet by creating lifestyle products that are manufactured by the local craftsmen. One of those traditional objects combining aesthetics with craftsmanship are kokeshi dolls, which we’ve been collection for quite some years now. Inspired by the extraordinary dolls Ronan and his brother Erwan Bouroullec designed a series of kokeshi dolls which are exclusively produced for the East Japan Project. The Bouroullec brother’s interpretation moved away for the super enlarged head and has a more human shape, with its torso separated in two elements, connected by a hinge which allows them to bend at the hip area, resulting in a more modern, moveable, but nevertheless familiar kokeshi doll. Such an elegant interpretation of one of our favorite Japanese traditional objects. [ Continue reading ]

Kokeshi dolls

We've slowly been collecting Kokeshi dolls for some years now. From the moment we found the first doll at Tortoise General Store we have been fascinated and impressed by the craft that goes into the production of the dolls, which clearly shows. In this video the modern production process of the Kokeshi has beautifully been caught on camera by Sàneyuki Owada of Japanstore. However, the origin of the beautiful Kokeshi dolls lays in North-East Japan, where it was first produced as wooden toy for children during the closing chapter of the Edo period, which ended in 1868. These first dolls were produced by woodwork artisans, called Kiji-shi, who normally made bowls, trays and other tableware by using a lathe. They began to make small dolls in the winter to sell to visitors who came to bathe in the many hot springs near their villages, which was believed to be a cure for the demands of a strenuous agricultural lifestyle. [ Continue reading ]

Another Collection Illustrated

The fascinating essence of collecting is the dynamic starting when one finds an object, and by placing it within the context of other items, creating a new entity: the collection. Whether it's a set of objects with great similarity or objects that have no apparent connection, within the context of a collection everything goes as long as the objects are brought together by the collector(s). As the Another Something & Company studio, over the years, has become a vault for (an) ever-expanding collection(s), we found it was time to start sharing some of the objects one finds here. And by doing so in an illustrated form, creating a whole new collection which we named: Another Collection illustrated. [ Continue reading ]

l’Equipe de Nîmes

I've been at Tenue de Nîmes from the very first beginning. As the creative partner, I am responsible for the identity of Tenue de Nîmes. This includes the graphic design, the concept of the store's interior and both the prints – the Journal and Nouvelle de Nîmes – we've published. Although I started as a graphic designer, I can't say I still am today. My motto "Creative Direction in Elegant Creativity" is the starting point for everything I touch and work with. Whether it is an exhibition design on the history of jeans in the Centraal Museum, an identity for a series of skin care stores, a national Dutch stamp -soon- or an advertising campaign for a leading baby stroller brand. And even on a personal level, my private collections of vintage denim aprons, antique money bags or Japanese Kokeshi dolls, they're all rooted in this elegant creativity. [ Continue reading ]

Los Angeles round-up

Back from LA I find myself packed with super nice good vintage found on the Rose Bowl Flea Market, lovely chocolates by Mary & Matt, a beautiful vintage Japanese Kokeshi figure from Tortoise General Store, the memory of the good food at… [ Continue reading ]