Makers
We are introducing the people behind our selected brands and artisans works sold art our shops.
* Depending on the season there some brands and artisans will not be featured.
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Woodworker and photographer. Bobby Mills’ independent workshop resides in North Devon, England. He creates one-off handmade furniture and objects from locally and nationally sourced wood, made by a simple method only using a woodturning lathe. He taught himself how to handle and make wood at a young age there are also Scandinavian influences from his mother Denmark heritage. Mills has a first class honours degree in photography from the University for the Creative Arts, and all of his images of his woodwork are taken by himself personally.
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Cosi Tabellni pewter is handmade in northern Italy by artisans who have honed their craft using methods gleaned over many generations. The number 95, stamped on their products, certifies that the pewter is made from 95% tin. Additional stamps indicate the workshop and location. Pewter tarnishes very slowly and requires almost no maintenance. Each piece is made with a lead-free alloy of tin, copper, and antimony that is food safe.
Craft & Artisan
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Domenica More Gordon is an illustrator and textile designer. After studying textile design at Central Saint Martins, More Gordon works as stylist for magazines. After returning to Scotland, she begins creating pieces by felts. Her one-of-a-kind, heartwarming works captures the hearts of various galleries and celebrities worldwide.
Craft & Artisan
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Edward Wohl began his career in woodworking upon graduating from the University of Washington in 1967. His workshop is situated in the natural landscape of Wisconsin, from which Wohl draws inspiration as he creates his beautifully shaped work. Particularly drawn to bird's-eye maple and North American cherrywood, his handmade pieces make sensitive use of grain pattern.
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Eichenlaub is a cutlery manufacturer that was established in Germany in 1910. Every process is carried out by hand, from forging the stainless steel board to polishing and finishing. Woods such as olive and ebony are used to decorate the handles. The contrast of the grain becomes more distinct as the pieces are used. The classic design and exceptional quality of this cutlery makes it a perfect choice to be passed on for generations.
Craft & Artisan
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Born in Munich, Germany in 1965, Ernst Gamperl is a woodturner and designer of bowls and vessels. After graduating from high school, he was first trained as a cabinet maker and stumbled onto woodturning by chance. An autodidact with no previous knowledge of the art, but equipped with a book on woodturning, he was unhampered by convention in his approach to turnery. After a few years of research and patient learning-by-doing, he perfected his technique. His first atelier was established in 1990. Three years later, he entered the Fachhochschule Hildesheim, Germany where he earned the title of Master of Turnery. In 2017, Gamperl was honored with the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize.
Craft & Artisan
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In his workshop located in the village of Kisogun in Nagano, bamboo craftsman Masaaki Iijima carries out every exacting step of his basket production. Skillfully selected bamboo from the surrounding mountains is cut into higo strips and colored with natural plant-based dyes. This begins an extended period of contemplation to understand the unique aesthetic characteristics of the bamboo that Iijima will ultimately transform into useful objects using a wide range of traditional Japanese basket weaving techniques, such as twill and armor plaiting.
Stores
Craft & Artisan
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Potter Kan Ito was born in 1971 and began his work in ceramics under the guidance of his father, the celebrated potter Hitoshi Tachibana. He opened his own kiln in 2006. His works are treasured for the particularity of his glazes, which give each vessel a profound and sometimes imposing presence.
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Masashi Ifuji crafts simple and functional wood objects that draw on the beloved traditional objects of diverse cultures. His workshop IFUJI in Matsumoto, Nagano, is known for its masterful renditions of classics, including the shaker box and the traditional Japanese cupboard. In addition to the workshop, he operates Laboratorio, a cafe, shop, and gallery devoted to clothing, food, and housewares.
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ikken is a design studio and a furniture workshop established in Kyoto in 2014. A partnership between two professionals, first-class Japan licensed architect, Takato Yoshida and furniture craftsmen Kiyo Yamanaka who were classmates in the department of architecture at university. Yoshida worked at the Lemming House and was the apprentice of Yoshifumi Nakamura. The year before the establishment of ikken, he worked very closely with furniture artist Hitoshi Onishi in Kyoto and continues to do so today. Yoshida develops the furniture design, while Yamanaka crafts the built-in furniture, and their collaboration with Onishi involves his production of furniture items such as chairs and tables.
Craft & Artisan
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Ishikawa is a brush manufactory created by the brush artisan Kazuo Ishikawa. In search of a perfect clothing brush, Ishikawa thoroughly studied materials and techniques before establishing his own brand of brushes for clothes and shoes. His brushes are made from owakige of a horse, which is known for its softness and strength. These brushes are celebrated as the ultimate, both for their excellence and their ability to enhance the fabric. His products can be found at various department and luxury stores that focus on men’s collections.
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Established in Kyoto in 1875, Kaikado is the oldest tea caddy maker in Japan. Their handcraft, which consist of approximately 130 steps, has been preserved through the centuries. Emphasis is on the natural beauty of the can. The silkiness and brilliance of the material becomes even more remarkable through the years. The lid closes smoothly and effortlessly, and this exceptional fit can only be achieved through hand work.
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Born in 1982, Naho Kamada honed her craft as a metal smith beginning with tools for the tea ceremony. She began working independently in 2008, creating alluring, strong works adorned with delicate details. Taking inspiration from ancient pieces from many regions throughout the world, she continues to create vessels, cutlery, and objects in pure silver and brass.
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Masao Kozumi is a glass artist born in Kumamoto in 1979. After graduating from Toyama City Institute of Glass Art, Kozumi starts working with glass in Asahimachi, Toyama. He is currently based in Gifu. His nostalgic looking pale green glasses are much thinner than their appearance. Its sophisticated and serene form matches perfectly with Japanese food.
Craft & Artisan
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Lee Gee Jo is a pioneering modern porcelain artist. Born in 1959, he obtained a Masters Degree at Seoul National University and now teaches art at Chungnam National University. He lives self sufficiently by farming and keeping chickens at his home and studio in Anseong. Gee Jo’s works are based on a traditional technique established during the Joseon dynasty, which places emphasis on the simple beauty of the white porcelain. His works generate a special harmony and interest around the experience of a meal.
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Ryuji Mitani was born in the Fukui Prefecture in 1952. He established his PERSONA STUDIO in Matsumoto in 1981. His work has introduced new facets and possibilities in wood craft, a field traditionally oriented toward furniture. Mitani is known for his informal wooden tableware and practical objects as well as his wooden sculptures inspired by everyday objects such as building blocks and kettles. In 2011 he opened the gallery 10cm, which is also located in Matsumoto.
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Peter Ivy is an artist working with glass. His works range from fine art to functional glass containers for everyday use. He bases his artistic activities in Toyama, where he has a studio. With an aim to "create something which becomes complete with use," he makes pieces that are functional and delicate and that enable users to feel the warmth of the maker. Ivy’s glass works are remarkable for their pale neutral colors, which blend into the scenes of our lives.
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Wood specialist Atsushi Sakai has garnered an international following for his handcrafted useful objects, especially his line of wooden spoons that combine natural sculptural shapes with a refined approach to practical functionality. Born in Aichi prefecture in 1969, Sakai began to follow his passion for wood working in 1994 shortly after graduating from university. He opened his shop Sajiya in Kunitachi, Tokyo in 2006 and established his brand Sho Bok Si in 2018. Today his workshop is located in Ushimado, Okayama.
Craft & Artisan
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Shimomoto was born in Kochi in 1978 and is revered for his production of everyday objects made with bamboo and charcoal. In 2001 he set up a kiln in his hometown, the former Kagami Mura. His bamboo works are both strong and flexible, and their distinctive color is achieved through a smoking process.
Craft & Artisan
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Trained in footwear at a specialty store in Kyoto for about 10+ years. In April 2020, he opened his own atelier and gallery in Iwakura, Kyoto.
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Kenichi Seki is a wood lacquer artist born in 1982 in Izumi-shi, Osaka. Seki first encountered the world of craft when his former university professor was working for a woodworking project of the Joseon dynasty. After graduating from university, Seki became an apprentice to the wood lacquer artist, Kazumasa Fujisaki. In 2012, he became an apprentice to the lacquer artist, Akito Akagi. Since becoming independent in 2019, Seki has based his artistic activity in Wajima-shi, Ishikawa.
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In 1949 Soffieria de Carlini founded her studio specializing in hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments. The collection is humorous and varied, and even today, each piece is still carefully handcrafted in the methods developed by the studio nearly seventy years ago.
Craft & Artisan
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Steve Harrison is an English potter born in 1967. After obtaining his MA in ceramics at the Royal College of Art, he set up his workshop and his kiln on the outskirts of London, where he now bases his artistic activities. He is known for his mugs and jugs created by the salt glaze technique, which uses common salt for the glaze coating.
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The glass workshop of Studio Prepa is devoted to the principle of allowing the unique personality of each piece to develop out of the material itself and the work process. To realize this delicate collaborative dialogue between craftsman, material, and technique, the entire process from design to production must be carried out within a single, unified workshop. The glass artists are able to look over every detail of each piece as they nurture the plain and simple expression of the object’s shape, function, and texture.
Craft & Artisan
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Kenichi Takanaka is a chirographer, painter, and potter. He was born in Toride-shi, Ibaraki in 1966. Beginning his education at Gakushuin University, Takanaka later left in order to teach himself the techniques of calligraphy, painting, and pottery. In 1993 he set up his kiln and studio in Otaki, Chiba, where he devotes himself to his artistic activities while leading a semi self-sufficient life with livestock. His unique and humorous works are influenced by old Chinese and Japanese scriptures and are exhibited in various art galleries in Japan.
Craft & Artisan
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Kazumi Tsuji was born in Ishikawa in 1964. After studying at California College of the Arts, she joined the Utatsuyama craft studio in Kanazawa as a glass artisan. Tsuji established her own glass studio, factory zoomer, in 1999 with a focus on glass containers. In 2005 factory zoomer/shop opened, and in 2010, she was appointed chief director for a craft project institution in Kanazawa.
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Craft & Artisan
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In 2005, Crystal and Ben Sloane founded the brand Vintage by Crystal. Working in their home studio in upstate New York, the couple crafts figurines and ornaments using unusual materials that range from antique objects to tree nuts.
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Born in Okayama in 1959, Yoshihumi Yamamoto devoted himself to the sport of skiing during his earlier college years before immersing himself in the field of woodworking. He studied his craft in Nagano and opened his first atelier in Kiso. He later relocated to a small gulf in his hometown, Okayama, where he produces wood and lacquer works. In 2006, he presented the exhibition Learning from the Shaker Style, and since 2013, he has been active as the director of the Ushimado craft walk.
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YALI Glass is a glass brand created by the founder and designer, Marie-Rose Kahane. After studying art history and psychology at the University of Jerusalem, she began her career as a costume designer. In 2009 Kahane moved to Venice, where she launched her Murano glass collection in celebration of “simplicity”. Her works are known for combining feminine delicacy with the traditional techniques of the master glass blowers on the island of Murano.