Junya Hirokawa Editor, Nikkei Design Magazine
As they've done in the past, the 2011 Design Tide Tokyo event hosted a number of extension venues exhibiting creative work across the city. Among these, one in particular that caught my attention for its uniqueness and earnest probe around an established notion of material consumption was Yu Yamada's (SHOP).
Yamada is a Tokyo-based retail buyer through his company, Method. True to its name, everything on display is for sale at (SHOP). The items that Yamada has collected at (SHOP) are not design products borne out of demand from the market or consumers. Rather, these objects are the pure, uninhibited work of their creators, who run the gamut from designers to architects. Taken together, the items comprise a highly unique and personal lineup that simply can't be found anywhere else. Furthermore, these items are not merely for sale on consignment—they are items that Yamada has purchased in full, which should give you an idea of his commitment to his selections.
As a retail buyer, Yamada's job is to focus on "what will sell." However, with (SHOP), he can take certain liberties in the interest of eclecticism: "I'm not bound by factors like the creator's personality or the features and cost of the product that are normally important when making buying decisions. Instead, I select things that I believe are genuinely desired by the soul." On most other days, Yamada works as a retail buyer for various items in major Japanese department stores such as Parco and Seibu, serves as a director for Design Tide Tokyo, and is a representative for Nooka Japan.
All the items at (SHOP) are far from a necessity for everyday life, as they are the type of things that somebody would only buy unless they really loved it. What Yamada is aiming at with (SHOP) is the "pure" act of buying: purchasing something because you truly desire it. On the other hand, it's also interesting to see how your perspective of the items he's picked changes if you imagine that you could buy any and all of them.
Check out some of the rare and wonderful objects after the jump:
Weight of the Light (¥378,000) Kyouei Design (Kouichi Okamoto) A floor light that utilizes a real rock.
Flat Box (¥36,750) Koga Mitsuru A reproduction of a cardboard box in 2D.
iPack (Customized Pricing) Hiroshi Kudo These iBooks were once an object of intense affection, but have been cast aside now that their technology has become dated. Kudo repurposes these unloved iBooks by furnishing them with custom stationary, including red ink pads (in Japan, many people use small, circular stamps of their name as a signature), measuring tape, and calculators.
Weapon Decoration: Chainsaw (¥126,000) These works cover (possibly) harmful weapons with cute, sparkly decorations.
Insect Cage (¥1,050,000) Ryuji Nakamura A work created through the process of rapid prototyping.
Dokuro Okashitsubo Shonzui (¥630,000) Maruwakaya+Kutani Choemon This tableware uses the skull as a theme on the traditional "Kutani" style of Japanese porcelain.
The Piano Black Blocks (¥126,000) Bob Foundation Toy woodblocks that use the same coating found on pianos.
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