At Mitsubishi Electric's event square, METoA Ginza, in Ginza, Tokyo, an installation art piece using home appliances by industrial designer Naoki Kawamoto, president of N&R Foldings, is currently on display (scheduled to run until June 14th). METoA Ginza, which was established as a space where technology intertwines with art, tradition, and culture to create and disseminate new value, is celebrating its first anniversary with a limited-edition collaboration clutch bag featuring Kawamoto's signature work, ORISHIKI. At a press conference on March 31st, actress Anne, who serves as the brand's ambassador, spoke at length about the bag's appeal. Kawamoto has previously collaborated with renowned Japanese brands to create clutch bags, and has been involved in numerous projects with world-renowned artists, including Sputniko! ORISHIKI made its runway debut at the tiit tokyo show on March 18th. He also participated as part of the team behind "KIBO SCIENCE 360," a collaborative project between Google and JAXA, where he designed a foldable VR space helmet. The team recently won the Grand Prize in the Mobile category at ADFEST 2017.
The ORISHIKI series, the core of all of our activities, is a case that can be folded like origami and wrapped like a furoshiki cloth for easy transport. ORISHIKI is the ultimate product that combines Japanese culture, which transforms flat surfaces into three-dimensional forms, with new manufacturing methods for the digital age. This unique system, which freely transitions between 2D and 3D, embodies true value not only in its design but also in its ideas. ORISHIKI embodies the journey of Mr. Kawamoto, who nearly gave up halfway through, but never gave up, believing in its value and continuing to forge ahead.
--First, please tell us a little about your background.
I was born in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture. My high school was a preparatory school where many students went on to medical, dental, pharmacological, and engineering fields. However, I didn't intend to go to medical school. Instead, I enrolled at the University of Art and Design because I excelled in art and was interested in architecture. Although I had aspirations of becoming an architect, I struggled with the scale of architecture, and my interest shifted to industrial design. While working part-time at a design firm, I also assisted with design at AIT (Arts Initiative Tokyo), an NPO supporting contemporary art. AIT offered many opportunities to interact with international artists, and meeting people from the UK who had graduated from graduate schools there inspired me to study abroad after graduating.
I couldn't speak English at all, so I first attended a language school. However, as I got used to it, life became increasingly boring. To find purpose, I applied to the RCA (Royal College of Art), an art-related graduate school. I studied in the Industrial Design Engineering course (now Innovation Design Engineering) and presented ORISHIKI as my graduation project.
--Please tell us more about the concept of ORISHIKI.
ORISHIKI is a coined word combining ORI (ori) from origami (folding), SHIKI (shiki) from furoshiki (wrapping), and shiki (style), which describes a method, such as ◯◯shiki. It's a completely new concept bag system that wraps items like a furoshiki while also functioning as luggage. Flattened, it's the same size as an A3 file, making it convenient for storage. It also reduces transportation and warehousing costs when shipping. The frame can be made from a variety of materials, including metals like aluminum and woods like mahogany, allowing for different looks. We also produce ORISHIKI bags that use the traditional craft of lacquer for the frame material. We believe that this blend of cutting-edge technology and traditional techniques offers endless possibilities for development.
We launched ORISHIKI in 2009, and in 2012 developed software called ORI-CON, a system that can automatically generate ORISHIKI bags. This system uses a 3D scan of the dimensions and shape of the object to be wrapped, automatically calculating the appropriate size and number of triangles to create a custom ORISHIKI. ORISHIKI should be thought of as a system, not just a bag.
We initially designed the bag with mass production in mind, but we're not there yet. Even if we print it using a 3D printer, the subsequent manual work of polishing and joining with resin is required, which would raise the retail price to around 300,000 yen. Currently, we only accept custom orders, but we would like to make progress, even if it's just a small step, toward mass production.
--How and when did the ORISHIKI concept and design come about? The background to the birth of ORISHIKI lies in my life in the UK and what I learned at RCA. At RCA, I was expected to create something that reflected my own unique creativity and meaning, rather than someone else's. Without a story or evidence to back up my product, I wouldn't even receive credit.
When I started working on my graduation project, I first came up with the idea of making a suitcase and came up with many ideas, but I couldn't come up with anything that would convince my professor... Looking back at my Japanese roots, I found the unique culture of origami and furoshiki wrapping fascinating, and I realized that if I applied these techniques and ideas, I could create an entirely new product. One day, I saw the wrinkles that formed when crumpling up a piece of A4 paper, and I was inspired to trace them and, if they were strong enough, create a case that could be wrapped and carried around. From there, I continued researching and refining the design, and the ORISHIKI suitcase was born, based on the concept of being able to tear off a section of wallpaper and take it with you on a trip. It's not just a way to transport things, it's an item that can also move your personal space.
"ORISHIKI" suitcase
After I graduated, I received many inquiries from companies interested in ORISHIKI, but we never got around to putting it into production. There were several reasons for this, but the first was the incredibly difficult process of making it. Factories didn't have the technology to develop ORISHIKI parts, and while it would have been fine if we could produce it using existing sales channels, it wasn't worth the risk of investing in research and spending time on production. It was at that moment that I realized that taking time is difficult in the fast-paced fashion industry.
Then, the Lehman Shock occurred, and the mood in the world changed completely. At the time, we were featured in a lot of overseas media, we met a lot of people, and projects were being planned, but after the Lehman Shock, most of them were scrapped, and I experienced extreme emotional ups and downs.
I worked as a freelancer in London for about two years, but the recession had a big impact, and I had no choice but to return to Japan due to visa issues. I really didn't want to give up on ORISHIKI, so I told my partner Rodrigo not to let the fire that had been lit die out, founded N&R Foldings, and left London, entrusting it to him. I tried my best to somehow get it out there and keep it going, but things didn't go as planned, and I had a tough time immediately after returning to Japan.
Continued in Part 2.
The ORISHIKI series, the core of all of our activities, is a case that can be folded like origami and wrapped like a furoshiki cloth for easy transport. ORISHIKI is the ultimate product that combines Japanese culture, which transforms flat surfaces into three-dimensional forms, with new manufacturing methods for the digital age. This unique system, which freely transitions between 2D and 3D, embodies true value not only in its design but also in its ideas. ORISHIKI embodies the journey of Mr. Kawamoto, who nearly gave up halfway through, but never gave up, believing in its value and continuing to forge ahead.
--First, please tell us a little about your background.
I was born in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture. My high school was a preparatory school where many students went on to medical, dental, pharmacological, and engineering fields. However, I didn't intend to go to medical school. Instead, I enrolled at the University of Art and Design because I excelled in art and was interested in architecture. Although I had aspirations of becoming an architect, I struggled with the scale of architecture, and my interest shifted to industrial design. While working part-time at a design firm, I also assisted with design at AIT (Arts Initiative Tokyo), an NPO supporting contemporary art. AIT offered many opportunities to interact with international artists, and meeting people from the UK who had graduated from graduate schools there inspired me to study abroad after graduating.
I couldn't speak English at all, so I first attended a language school. However, as I got used to it, life became increasingly boring. To find purpose, I applied to the RCA (Royal College of Art), an art-related graduate school. I studied in the Industrial Design Engineering course (now Innovation Design Engineering) and presented ORISHIKI as my graduation project.
--Please tell us more about the concept of ORISHIKI.
ORISHIKI is a coined word combining ORI (ori) from origami (folding), SHIKI (shiki) from furoshiki (wrapping), and shiki (style), which describes a method, such as ◯◯shiki. It's a completely new concept bag system that wraps items like a furoshiki while also functioning as luggage. Flattened, it's the same size as an A3 file, making it convenient for storage. It also reduces transportation and warehousing costs when shipping. The frame can be made from a variety of materials, including metals like aluminum and woods like mahogany, allowing for different looks. We also produce ORISHIKI bags that use the traditional craft of lacquer for the frame material. We believe that this blend of cutting-edge technology and traditional techniques offers endless possibilities for development.
We launched ORISHIKI in 2009, and in 2012 developed software called ORI-CON, a system that can automatically generate ORISHIKI bags. This system uses a 3D scan of the dimensions and shape of the object to be wrapped, automatically calculating the appropriate size and number of triangles to create a custom ORISHIKI. ORISHIKI should be thought of as a system, not just a bag.
We initially designed the bag with mass production in mind, but we're not there yet. Even if we print it using a 3D printer, the subsequent manual work of polishing and joining with resin is required, which would raise the retail price to around 300,000 yen. Currently, we only accept custom orders, but we would like to make progress, even if it's just a small step, toward mass production.
--How and when did the ORISHIKI concept and design come about? The background to the birth of ORISHIKI lies in my life in the UK and what I learned at RCA. At RCA, I was expected to create something that reflected my own unique creativity and meaning, rather than someone else's. Without a story or evidence to back up my product, I wouldn't even receive credit.
When I started working on my graduation project, I first came up with the idea of making a suitcase and came up with many ideas, but I couldn't come up with anything that would convince my professor... Looking back at my Japanese roots, I found the unique culture of origami and furoshiki wrapping fascinating, and I realized that if I applied these techniques and ideas, I could create an entirely new product. One day, I saw the wrinkles that formed when crumpling up a piece of A4 paper, and I was inspired to trace them and, if they were strong enough, create a case that could be wrapped and carried around. From there, I continued researching and refining the design, and the ORISHIKI suitcase was born, based on the concept of being able to tear off a section of wallpaper and take it with you on a trip. It's not just a way to transport things, it's an item that can also move your personal space.
"ORISHIKI" suitcase
After I graduated, I received many inquiries from companies interested in ORISHIKI, but we never got around to putting it into production. There were several reasons for this, but the first was the incredibly difficult process of making it. Factories didn't have the technology to develop ORISHIKI parts, and while it would have been fine if we could produce it using existing sales channels, it wasn't worth the risk of investing in research and spending time on production. It was at that moment that I realized that taking time is difficult in the fast-paced fashion industry.
Then, the Lehman Shock occurred, and the mood in the world changed completely. At the time, we were featured in a lot of overseas media, we met a lot of people, and projects were being planned, but after the Lehman Shock, most of them were scrapped, and I experienced extreme emotional ups and downs.
I worked as a freelancer in London for about two years, but the recession had a big impact, and I had no choice but to return to Japan due to visa issues. I really didn't want to give up on ORISHIKI, so I told my partner Rodrigo not to let the fire that had been lit die out, founded N&R Foldings, and left London, entrusting it to him. I tried my best to somehow get it out there and keep it going, but things didn't go as planned, and I had a tough time immediately after returning to Japan.
Continued in Part 2.
!["Connecting places to create new and interesting things" Industrial designer Naoki Kawamoto [INTERVIEW--2/2]](https://wrqc9vvfhu8e.global.ssl.fastly.net/api/image/crop/380x380/images/migration/2017/04/73281b9d14f2cccc0d3fbb32938b8ca7.jpg)
