The designer, Wataru Kumano says “I aimed to make it as plain as possible for people to make products by utilizing the characteristics of materials and techniques. It’s the ultimate in simplicity. How does design play a role in this? The thoughtful philosophies and processes behind them will have a powerful presence that will overturn our stereotypes. The 5th TOKYO CRAFT ROOM project has started with such high expectations. As the R&D of this project, he has been involved in the product development between designers and manufacturers, and this time he will present his products as a designer.
Kumano is working on the design of a mirror. This time, Kumano is working on the design of a “mirror,” a full-length mirror that reflects the entire body. Another mission of this project is “Tokyo craftsmanship”. This project has been collaborating with artisans and manufacturers from all over Japan, but the challenge is to focus on Tokyo not only as a place where new crafts can be created, but also as a place where the skills of the makers can be used. The challenge is to focus not only on Tokyo as a place where new crafts can be created, but also on Tokyo as a maker’s craft. Let’s take a look at the design inspirations for realizing this project.
After graduating from the University of the Arts Helsinki (now Aalto University), he worked as an assistant designer at Jasper Morrison Tokyo Studio in Japan, and established his own design office, where he works as an interior, furniture and product designer, as well as a project management. Kumano, who has been working in fields and perspectives that transcend national borders, has his own thoughts on Tokyo’s crafts that caught our attention.
I was born in Ota Ward, Tokyo. I was born in Ota Ward, Tokyo, and it is a city of manufacturing with many factories, and many of my friends have family members who are involved in factory work. When it was decided that this project would focus on the makers of Tokyo, I started researching to see what I could do with the manufacturing techniques of Ota Ward, where I was born.
Ota Ward, Tokyo is known as the “City of Manufacturing” with approximately 3,500 factories. In particular, the area specializes in metal processing factories for “shaving,” “polishing,” and “forming,” and many world-class technologies are gathered here. Among them, Kumano paid attention to “Kitajima Shibori Seisakusho” which has a high technology of “spatula drawing”.
Spinning is one of the techniques for stretching and processing metals by utilizing “plasticity,” the property of metals to remain deformed when force is applied to them. Metal materials such as aluminum, iron, stainless steel, titanium, etc., are processed into disks or cylinders, fixed to a die and rotated in a special machine, and formed using a specialized tool called a “spatula”. Since the process requires only one mold and one sheet of metal, it reduces both cost and time, and since it does not involve cutting, it has high strength.
Since its establishment in 1947, Kitajima Shibori Seisakusho. has consistently specialized in the processing of drawing parts. Especially in the spinning, the company boasts of its long years of know-how and advanced craftsmanship, and has manufactured a wide variety of products ranging from parts with a few millimeters in diameter to four-meter-long parabolic antennas and rocket tip parts.
“I had the impression that a mirror product could only be distinguished by its size and frame design. But that’s why I thought there were many design possibilities depending on your way of thinking. As I thought about the possibility of creating a mirror that was not a flat surface, but a three-dimensional “mass of mirror,” with the presence of an art object, I arrived at the technique of the spinning. I often work on wooden furniture, and when I do so, I always pay attention to the strength of the piece, and design it with the idea of how easy it is for the maker to make. That’s why I wanted to create this mirror by focusing on how to realize the characteristics of the material with simple techniques.”
Returning to his roots, he began with an idea that had never been seen before: a mirror made with a spinning. The product born from the bare materials and techniques seems to be a proposal for a new approach to design.
>>Continued in Story 2
Wataru Kumano
Wataru Kumano is a product designer. From 2001 to 2008 studied in Finland, studied Furniture design at Lahti Polytechnic (2001-2004 BA), and University of Art and Design Helsinki (Aalto University) for Postgraduate studies (2005-2008 MA). After he came back to Japan, he started work as an assistant designer of British Product Designer Jasper Morrison in Tokyo in 2008. Beside the work, set up own design office “kumano” in 2011, and work for interior, furniture, product design and project management around the world. In 2021, he was inaugurated associate professor for Musashino Art University.
Kitajima Shibori Seisakusho
Kitajimabori Seisakusho, founded in 1947 and located in Ota-ku, Tokyo, specializes in the processing of metal spinning. The company is involved in a large number of productions ranging from a small number of hand-made products to mass-produced products using automatic drawing and press forming. The specialize in spinning of special metals, and with its state-of-the-art equipment and know-how accumulated over the past 70 years, it is able to produce a wide range of sizes and types of parts, from satellite equipment parts to aircraft, semiconductor devices, and monuments.
“bead” Mirror
Size:
φ800mm
Material:
Stainless steel
Price:
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