Kanto Journal 3 Volume 2 2017
The Culture and Diaspora issue. A quarterly collaborative journal on architecture, photography, art and design, literature, food, and travel
The Culture and Diaspora issue. A quarterly collaborative journal on architecture, photography, art and design, literature, food, and travel
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ANGLES<br />
You started out as a sushi chef before the founding of the Lab.<br />
What fueled the desire to venture into furniture-making?<br />
Since I was a child, I’ve always been interested in ‘monozukuri’,<br />
spending my free time making and assembling things with my hands.<br />
It just so happened that after the disaster there was a need as well as<br />
an opportunity to get into furniture-making. Over the years, I have<br />
arrived at a personal understanding of what design is, and it is an act<br />
of problem-solving that when combined with DIY can really have a<br />
profound impact in our lives.<br />
Our workshops<br />
can be tailored to<br />
all skill and age<br />
levels as we believe<br />
anyone can benefit<br />
from learning<br />
basic skills of DIY<br />
and being exposed<br />
to learning how<br />
to make things<br />
by hand.<br />
How does the Lab foster knowledge of furniture creation?<br />
How can an interested student join in? Is prior knowledge of<br />
furniture-crafting a requirement?<br />
We run regular DIY woodworking and furniture-making workshops<br />
in Ishinomaki and Tokyo and have had the opportunity to conduct<br />
them internationally in the Philippines, Taiwan, France and Singapore.<br />
Our workshops can be tailored to all skill and age levels as we believe<br />
anyone can benefit from learning basic skills of DIY and being exposed<br />
to learning how to make things by hand. Unlike the current trend of<br />
technology in fabrication, exemplified by the proliferation of 3D printers<br />
and laser cutters, we really champion the idea of low-tech as an accessible<br />
and realistic method for anyone to pick up.<br />
Where do you plan to take Ishinomaki Lab in the future?<br />
Any future projects and initiatives that you can share with us?<br />
Compared to other furniture makers, where we really differ is the<br />
fact that we can directly work with individuals and organizations<br />
by holding these workshops where participants can learn and experience<br />
DIY and furniture-making themselves—the same way we started off as<br />
well. These activities are never a one-way dissemination process, but a<br />
mutual exchange. We are continuously amazed by the quality of designs<br />
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