Finnish design house Marimekko will open a one-week pop-up shop called "We Love Japan - The Isetan edition" from June 7th to June 13th at The Stage on the first floor of the main building of Isetan Shinjuku.
This pop-up shop will feature "patterns," the origin of Marimekko's manufacturing, and will sell limited-edition items created in collaboration with artisans who continue traditional Japanese crafts, including Arita ware kilns, wooden furniture manufacturers, handmade tin can artisans, and tenugui (hand towel) artisans.
In collaboration with Hatamatsu Touen, an Arita ware manufacturer in Saga Prefecture with a 400-year history, the store will feature the "Sake cup" (large, 2 designs available, 18,000 yen / small, 2 designs available, 15,000 yen) and "Incense holder" (2 designs available, 37,000 yen), sake cups in which artisans have carefully and delicately painted Marimekko's iconic prints, including "UNIKKO," one by one. Also from Saga Prefecture, Fukuizumi Kiln will be the "Rice cup" (3 designs available, 8,000 yen), a tea bowl made from an original mold using transfer printing techniques.
Wooden furniture manufacturer Karimoku New Standard has a lineup of "sofa" (single-seater, starting from 230,000 yen) and "Ottoman" (92,000 yen), both made with jacquard fabric for interior use. The "Tin box" (available in three colors, 3,500 yen) is a tin can useful for storage in the kitchen or living room, created as a collaboration item with Kato Seisakusho, a tea canister manufacturer founded in 1895.The can features a new design created by Marimekko designer Aino-Maija Metsola for this project. Other items on offer include the "Wood box" (available in two colors, 12,000 yen), which can be used as a lunch box or small item holder and is crafted by the skilled techniques of a woodworker from Hata Lacquerware, a shop in Ishikawa Prefecture that boasts the highest woodturning techniques in Japan, and the vibrant two-tone "Tenugui" (available in three colors, 2,000 yen) from Kamawanu, a tenugui specialty shop. Also on sale will be a "Marimekko x Traditional Japanese Colors" collection, featuring mugs (2,500 yen), aprons (7,000 yen), tote bags (4,500 yen), and cushion covers (5,000 yen) that reflect traditional Japanese colors such as indigo iron, jet black, and crimson. A talk show featuring Marimekko designer Sami Ruotsalainen and others is also scheduled to be held at the same venue from 6:00 PM on June 9th.
