Massive cast iron ampersands from House Industries! Insane!!!

This month over at Néojaponisme: a micro/macro look at Harajuku's place in the fashion landscape globally and locally; two analyses of what it really means to be an otaku; and Tokyo's first contemporary art fair. All this and our editor-in-chief is also having a kid!

It's been a vaguely exciting month over at Néojaponisme. We've debuted the first English review of Kawakami Mieko's 138th Akutagawa Prize-winning text Chichi to Ran (『乳と卵』, “Breasts and Eggs”), a questionable graphic novella I did years ago in Japanese, a retro review of an even more questionable Japanese submarine action thriller, talked about the northern islands ceded to Russia by Japan following World War II, dropped bootleg Cornelius radio broadcasts galore, some crappy type design, and an enquiry into Japan's attempt to reform its visual language.

There is much, much in store in the next year: limited edition clothing with a certain clothing giant and more...

If you are in LA and are vaguely interested in things Nihonesque, make sure to check out Néojaponisme Editor-in-chief W.  David Marx speaking at J-Wave at UCLA TOMORROW. A more crucial, engaging, and enlightening presentation on global fashion is going to be difficult to find.

Above: the non-LP b-side image that didn't accompany the Murakami review.

Hot on the heels of Geoff & Ed's Redcat show comes the launch of GM's hand silk-screened company: Pottok.
If you are wealthy enough to own a home or have a rad landlord, the line launches tomorrow- Feb 28 - at Walnut Wallpaper in LA.

How do you say "I want this" in Swedish?

PingMag MAKE is the sister site to PingMag.
We use an interview format to put the spotlight on a wide range of
people active in rural areas. We document the voices of these
unknown heroes and broadcast them to the world. It's the
Japan-based magazine about people and making things,
coming out once a week. We're passing on the passion,
ideas, skills, and life stories of people who are building today
and exploring tomorrow: craftsmen, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors.

The unofficial announcement from my end:

This is a really great idea- there are so many small cottage industries from "days gone by" that produce amazing handmade goods that could benefit from a bit of exposure and hopefully some fresh clientel. The site opens with a visit to a custom umbrella maker (folks use umbrellas here regularly, mind you) and a prosthetics shop.

I was looking for materials to make a baby room for my soon to be son when I saw these. The North Tiles system is a new way of building flexible walls with independent modules. Like anything from the Bouroullec Brothers I am afraid to ask how much they will cost. I'm a sucker for a warm, colorful, flexible wall system. I see myself staying up all night cutting industrial felt......

Long overdue, Neojaponisme launches with an initial manifesto, outlining the magazine's strategy for broadcasting cutural criticism, design writing, historical essays, music, and original artwork from Japan to the world.

Photos by Elaine Yeung

Made British
By far some the best contemporary furniture you can find today.
Established & Sons

Japanese High Art or Design? You be the judge. Plus Minus Zero.Visit Online

Recently saw his Chair ONE at the De Young Museum cafe in San Francisco. He has much more going on.

Konstantin Grcic

Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec were born in Quimper, respectively in 1971 and 1976.

As soon as he graduated from the « Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs », Ronan began working alone, progressively assisted by Erwan, who was then still a student at the « Ecole des Beaux-Arts » of Cergy Pontoise. The two brothers have been working together since 1999. Their collaboration is a constant dialogue, one that is fed by their separate identities but strives toward a common goal.

They met Giulio Cappellini in 1997, when their “Disintegrated Kitchen” was on show at the Salon du Meuble in Paris. This was to be the starting point of a regular collaboration that has resulted in various projects since 1999. In 2000, Issey Miyake commissioned them to design a shop in Paris for to his new collection A-Poc. The very same year, they met Rolf Felhbaum, Chairman of Vitra, and began working on a new Office Furniture System called “Joyn” which was produced in 2002. This project opened the way for further collaboration.

Today, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec work together with numerous manufacturers such as Vitra, Cappellini, Issey Miyake, Magis, Ligne Roset, Habitat and the Kréo Gallery. In addition, they work on architectural projects, like the « Floating House », an artist’s Studio under construction, commissioned by “Le centre d’Art de Chatou”.

The brothers were named “Creator of the Year” at the Salon du Meuble in Paris, 2002, and have won multiple awards like the “New Designer Awards” of the International Furniture Fair of New-York in 1999, le Grand Prix du Design de la Ville de Paris in 1998 and the First Prize of Saint-Etienne Biennale in 1998. In 2003, they were voted “designer of the year” by Elle Decoration, Japan.

Their designs have been exhibited in many collective or solo exhibitions such as “Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec” at the London Design Museum in 2002. In 2004, 2 solo exhibitions were held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and at the Boijmans Museum of Art in Rotterdam. In summer 2005, they took part in a collective exhibition at the Seoul Art Center, Hangaram Design Museum in Korea.

Both brothers regularly take part in workshops at various Schools of Art and Design.

bouroullec.com

Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec: Monograph

The great design studio GTF made a box you can customize me box website