They’re not mass-produced, and they’re not totally one-off, so-called “handmade” products, either. The brands Kou Chihara has gathered together for the Readymade/Handmade show at the Omotesando shop Pass The Baton all share the same goal of producing original, carefully manufactured, everyday items. Loopto went to see, and find out what Chihara-san had in mind.

Q. What made you decide to put this show together?

I’ve been wanting to do a show with Ore (bags), Nanako Yamaguchi (pottery) and nir (shoes) for 2 or 3 years now. Each of the brands design their products themselves, and manufacture them at their homes. And although they are all made by hand, they are produced to the quality of off-the-shelf or mass-produced products. They each work very hard to get rid of any of that handmade “crafty” feel. And of course, all of them create unique, fun products. In other words, they have each managed to reach a certain technical level in order to produce top quality domestic articles, and coupled that with their highly unique styles.

So each of the brands is both practical and unique, and although their genres are different, they share a graphical approach. I thought it would be fun to see what could be done with them together. Just when I was thinking where we could do a show that would reach as many people as possible, the Pass The Baton gallery approached me.

Ore’s Soccer Ball bag and tea cosy

Q. For the show you have actually worked with each of the brands to create new products, and also put together an original promotional video – that in itself is quite a unique approach, isn’t it?

You could sell products like this at a one-man show, or take part in a group show, or sell them in a shop or on the web, but I wanted to find a fun way of presenting the products that wasn’t a trade show or regular market place. So I decided that as the curator I would not only select the brands, but actually work with them to make something new. And then I thought it might give things some depth to make a promo video too….. maybe I went a bit too far! (laughs) I think one of my motivations was to see how far I could go to put my ideal into place.

My responsibility as the curator is to find the balance between the items selected, not just compartmentalize them. What you want to know is whether the items you have chosen or made actually reach the audience – whether people buy them or not. I hope that each of the brands will be able to get some feedback from that.

Q. So, can you tell us about the products you have produced for the show?

I made products with each of the brands. I gave them ideas, and each brand chose the ideas they wanted to go with, and we worked together to create the final products.

Nanako Yamaguchi: Lace relief series (cups, mugs, vases, badges)

Bowl by Nanako Yamaguchi

Detail of lace patterned vase, by Nanako Yamaguchi

Ceramicist Nanako Yamaguchi was born in Aichi pref, in 1978. She graduated from Tokyo University of Fine Arts, Ceramics in 2002., and launched her career as ceramicist in 2004,. She has taken part in many shows both in Japan and overseas.

The first piece I saw by Yamaguchi was a white bowl with a lace pattern. It was a very stylish piece, and I really liked the mixture of the hard ceramics with the delicate lace design. For this show we produced cups and mugs with an original lace pattern in relief that kind of eats away at the sides and bottom of the pieces. Nobody will mind you leaving pretty coffee rings with these! (laughs)
And we also made vases built up with fragments of patterned clay, and even the fragments themselves as badges – it’s a kind of punk/elegant look.

Ore : shoppingBUG

Cotton bag with lots of multicolored handles! by Ore

Detail of colorful soccer-ball patchwork, on a bag by Ore

Ore was established in 1998. They use everyday motifs as the starting point for their fun and original designs, like their popular soccer ball bag.

We produced a simple cotton shopping bag that has just slightly altered its shape – hence the name “shopping bug”. There are 2 models, one with one rounded edge (it will hold twenty LP records), and one with a diagonal edge, and just by changing the shape you can create a bag from almost exactly the same amount of material, but with a totally different feeling. There are also models with handles that are intentionally too long, or too fat. They are fun if you carry several at the same time, on top of each other. They are all made from recycled material.

nir : used denim room shoes.

Used denim pumps and slippers, by nir

Used denim pumps and slippers, by nir

nir uses denim or leather to create handmade shoes that are fun and inspiring.

These are Moroccan babouche slippers made from used denim. They have a house motif, pointing in the same direction on both left and right slipper, the inner is made from recycled pocket material, and the pressed leather logo is riveted in place. They are built from old denim jeans that have been dismantled and re-sewn.
nir already had some used denim boots in their line, so I asked them to make some used denim heels as well, and we ended up with a whole line – boots, heels and slippers – all in used denim.

Thank you for showing us round, Chihara-san! Somewhere between mass-produced and handmade, but practical too. And, of course, they’d better look good! That might be a tall order, but we think the items in the Handmade/Readymade show have lived up to it. What do you think?