Seaside Snapshots...

The delights of a day trip to Kamakura...

Prabal Gurung

Great bold use of colour blocking alongside creative cuts from Prabal Gurung S/S 2011 collection.

Reality Lab: Issey Miyake 132.5 Brand

Today I visited one of the most amazing exhibitions I have seen in a long time! The highlight of Reality Lab exhibition at 21 21 Design Sight was most definitely the documentary showing the production process of Issey Miyake's 132.5 Brand. Emphasis was on the sustainability and recycling, alongside maintaining production in Japan. I could have watched the film over and over but eventually I moved on to view the collection, which explores the process of changing dimensions. This will be a great influence on my current project! Finally, you were invited to play and interact with the designs, making them three dimensional and returning them to their two dimensional form. Great to experience first hand a new concept for clothing and design.

Next Generation House.

More amazing architecture from Sou Fujimoto Architects… This is the Next Generation House, a 4m by 4m cube created using stacked, cedar blocks. The interlocking elements generate layers and crevices which fulfill the primary functions of a house; a ceiling and four walls as well as added warmth, insulation and comfort the wood brings. This multilevel structure blurs the lines between conventional rooms and levels creating seating, shelving, and storage throughout. It is nestled in the hillside in Kumamura, Japan and I only wish I had time to visit while I am here! (photographed by Iwan Baan)

Iremonya Design Labo

The Japanese fascination with faces is epitomised by Kyoto based company Iremonya. I visited the showroom while I was there and it's amazing how the hint of two eyes and a mouth can make standard boxes so much more appealing! Iremonya adds smiles and expressions to a number of objects giving them personality and character - really wish I had room to take some home!

Temples...

I couldn't spend a week in Kyoto and not post anything about all the temples I have visited. It is jam-packed full of them and I am pretty bad at remebering all the different names, so I tend to recall them by their size, the materials they are made from, sights I saw there and the colours! Here is just a small taste of the ones I have visited....

Nishijin Textiles

Some snapshots from our visit to Nishijin Textiles Centre in Kyoto. This turned out to provide us with an amazing wealth of information regarding the production of kimono fabrics! We were treated to a catwalk show of kimonos followed by demonstrations by skilled craftsmen and women on the different techniques that are used to produce the fabrics and prints.

Knit-wits!

Our fun and eventful day, attempting to use the Shima Seiki Whole Garment Knitting Machine at Bunka University today!

Japanese Batik

Another day of our trip to Kyoto was spent at Roketsu where we took part in a traditional Japanese batik workshop. This was run by a mother and son team who I guess had been working with and perfecting this techniques their whole lives! We got by with basic English and demonstrations of what we had to do, they even showed us how they produce lengths of fabric for kimonos. It was an amazing experience where we each produced our own batik sample to take home! Great day!

Akihiko Izukura

While on our travels in Kyoto we took a trip to the factory of textile artist and designer Akihiko Izukura. Recently he worked with Nottingham Trent University to present the captivating exhibition Life in Colours. His work is focused around natural dyes and a zero waste concept. We were lucky enough to be shown around the dyeing studios and experience the wonderful sights and smells of the cloves and cinnamon used for dyeing, along with many other natural ingredients. We then slipped our shoes off and were taken up to the studio where we could watch the yarns being spun and woven into wonderful traditional obi's. It was a great experience to see everything being made first hand and his work is a great example of how sustainable design practice can be combined with contemporary craft.