Recently in houseware Category

A ceramic artist, Ryota Aoki was born in 1978 and lives in Toki, Gifu pref. where is historically famous for pottery.  He is one of the most energetic and talented young ceramic artist in Japan and has received many awards not only in Japan but also in Korea.

Material of these pitcher and katakuchi bowl is porcelain and the glaze is into porcelain before fire. According to him, it took two years for him to create such an original material and it is now his representative finish.

Food safe and no color stained.

PITCHER

On our trip for Japan in September, we fell in love with this beautiful glassware. The description said Peter Ivy (USA) so we abondanded to contact him even though we really wished we could have carried his pieces at our store becuase of its simplicity and sensibility. Then a couple days later, our close friend in Tokyo who owns a store called Source and also writes about Peter's glass as his favorite piece, gave us his jar on my birthday by coinsidence and we found out the fact that he is from US but now lives in Toyama prefecture with his Japanese wife and two children! We got excited enough to contact him right away and about 10 days later we already visited his studio in Toyama!

Now you can see his first delivery in our store. Each one is mouth-blown and slightly greenish color. Very thin and fragile but very special for sure.

I will quote an interesting message from him when I exchanged email the first time.

"For me there is also an ironic side to the possibility displaying works there. When I lived in the U.S. I often made the simplest of works for myself to use at home. I never even considered trying to sell them there at that time. It would have been impossible as they were too simple for the general market. When I came to Japan I recognized quickly that there was a fit between my own sensibility as a maker and the culture here. I also felt a great curiosity about the sensibility of hand made items in Japan that I had not discovered in in the U.S. If indeed my work does end up being displayed in the U.S. I really enjoy the idea of it being within the context of "things Japanese."

This is the first and only tea-leaf canister in Japan that is purely hand made. Since 1875 until today one family in Kyoto has kept the technique which takes more than 130 processes until completion to make one canister. 

When you line up the seams on the canister and let go the lid, it will shut down by itself slowly. The action excrete air, which in result seals completely and keep contents fresh longer. This is the proof of hand made by craftsman.

Please do not touch with wet hands nor wash with water.

Please keep gently stroking the surface to avoid finger prints.

Enjoy the color change of metal by oxidation.
It takes 2-3 weeks for copper, half year for brass and 1-2 years for tin.

This canister is good not only for green tea but also for  coffee beans and English tea and so on.

To purchase it online, please visit TGS (Tortoise General Store) website.

size: 3"(height) 4"(diameter)
price: $40

Sorry it is out of stock now. Please contact us the next availability.Thank you.

Sori Yanagi was born in 1915 as a son of Soetsu Yanagi who was a leader of Japanese Folk    Arts and Crafts movements. He is respected as one of the best product designer in Japan. His design philosophy is not only simple but functional and practical.

This pot was designed in 1956 and got gold award at 11th Milano Triennale (1957).

size: 6"x5"(only body)  handle:  3 1/2" tall, bamboo

price: $200

<from left>
white : 6 3/4" x 5 1/2"  sold out
sage :  9" x 5"  $250
brown:  10" 1/2 x 4" 1/2  $250

These cups were deisgned by Marc Newson in 2000 for IDEE, a Tokyo-based furniture company. The material is bone china.

L: 3.5"dia x 4.5"H $25
M: 3"dia x 3"H $20

These mugs are hand crafted with direction by Starnet in Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture.

SOLD OUT
4"dia x 3"H