DesignTide exhibition and market opened for business last Saturday and we went along Monday to check out the sleek and sexy new objects on show at Tokyo Midtown.
At the top of our wish list was the or-ita by Makoto Orisaki/inter_works Lab.'s, an awesome tool that allows you to cut into corrugated cardboard and form creases that then enable you to mold the cardboard into interesting shapes.
Still on a folding tip, Naoki Kawamoto's cool Orishiki, which unfold and easily fold back into solid containers. I tried out the glasses case and it proved surprisingly easy to manipulate despite its complex look.
Folds surfaced yet again with Mic*Itaya updated versions of traditional Japanese lamp designs (above right). The lamps not only look modern but also are designed to switch themselves off and on again when you clap your hands. (Well, they're designed to do that, but in reality this function only worked sporadically.)In terms of furniture, Daisuke Motogi's Lost in Sofa got our vote for the most innovative concept. The sofa's rather suggestive tag line is "anything can be inserted anywhere," and as you can see from the photo, that's true!
We also liked Yuki Yamamoto's ReLine series of chairs, which are designed to physically represent mathmatical formulas when viewed in profile. Made from tubing normally used for medical purposes, they're also super comfortable.
Lastly, Tou's lovely knitwear (right), on sale at the Design Market near the exit, caught our eye. Humorous and trendy, we liked the long hand scarf pictured but the arrow design was also a bit hit.
