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Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA in 1962. Graduated from the California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles in 1985. Continued studies as a research student at Nippon Daigaku, and later worked under Takenobu Igarashi. Established design studio, Normal Y.K., in 2000. Launched the "Vols" cell phone design for the KDDI AU Design Project in 2006. Has exhibited widely throughout Europe, the United States, and Japan. Currently serves as a panel member for 100% Design Tokyo. Honored with the Tokyo Designers Block Frame award for best installation on 2003, and three Good Design awards. [+/-] more profile.. [+] Japanese profile.. |
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Maruni Trip Last week Madoka, Nico, and I tool a trip down to Hiroshima to see her family for Golden week. On the last day we had a chance to visit Maruni, which is located near by. Maruni is a Japanese furniture brand with an 80 year history renowned for its excellent quality. Most of what they produce are classical reproductions, but about four years ago they launched a new line of modern furniture called "Nextmaruni" . I've been a fan of this brand from the beginning, as it has pieces by some of my favorite designers, including Harri Koskinen, Shin Azumi, Naoto Fukasawa, and Jasper Morrison. Apparently, bringing the same level of quality to these contemporary pieces was a great challenge for them in the beginning, but results have been well worth it.   They were kind enough to give Madoka and I extensive tours of both of their factories, and invite us to an opening of their exhibition at the Oriental Hotel Hiroshima. Thank you Yamanaka-san, Kawakami-san, Mizukami-san, and Sadayasu-san.   You can find out more about Nextmaruni on their site [www.nextmaruni.com], and also in this pingmag article [make.pingmag.jp/2008/01/22/maruni/]. |
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