Isetan Mitsukoshi and BEAMS have teamed up to host "STAND Kyushu," a project event to rediscover the charms of various parts of Japan, which will begin on March 29th at The Stage on the first floor of the main building of Isetan Shinjuku and on the first floor of BEAMS Japan.

FASHION HEADLINE has interviewed creators from Kyushu who will be taking part in the event. In the second installment of the series, we introduce "OPEN STUDIO" in Kumamoto.

■Open Studio "Designing everyday humour"

This original item is innovative and brimming with a sense of humour, combining a broom that the artist knitted himself with an ice hockey handle. The workshop is also home to a variety of brooms of all sizes with exclusive designs, including ones with handles made from tennis rackets, guitars, shamisen, empty cans and other objects. Where on earth did this idea come from?



Open Studio is an impressive, ivy-covered workshop in Kumamoto City that opened in 1979 as a glassblowing workshop. To sum up the owner, Takamitsu Toshinobu, in one word, he is a gifted designer. Takamitsu began studying paper design under a master in Fukuoka when he was a university student, then studied glassblowing techniques in the UK, and spent the next 10 years studying metals at a craft school in the US, mastering each material one by one over a 10-year plan. Along the way, he also pursued creative endeavors, such as opening the ASO Gallery in a renovated cowshed in Hakusui Village, and holding his first overseas solo exhibition, "Washi and Light Installation," in Northern Ireland. Now, he uses all kinds of materials to design and materialize the ideas that pop into his head.



Surprisingly, the reason he started making brooms was because he was making and selling iron wood-burning stoves made from an upside-down Goemon bath, and he needed a broom to use for cleaning and disposing of ashes. So he returned to a craft school in the US and, in the short space of one week, learned how to weave American-style brooms.

Today, he has developed his own original weaving method, which is even more durable than the American-style broom weaving method, and continues to present his designs. "My job is to think about things that suddenly occur to me in my daily life, things that I can't get out of my head, and then change my way of thinking about them to create something completely new and fresh," says Takamitsu. When designing or creating something, he emphasizes not being bound by preconceived notions.



With unwavering vitality, his ultimate goal is to share what he has learned through "craftsmanship education." He currently runs the "Aso Crafts School" at the ASO Gallery, regularly holding workshops on making glass beads and earrings, as well as brooms made from Aso's native pampas grass. Together with his son Taro, who works with him, he is considering the idea of an ASO manufacturing network that will enable him to work on education and support for manufacturing in the local community. Takamitsu continues to create things and experiences that surprise and move people's hearts. His hands are magical hands, and hands of hard work.

At "STAND Kyushu", an original item that is both humorous and highly practical will be on display, combining a shoehorn with the handle of a broom from the open studio.
【Event Information】
"STAND Kyushu"
■Isetan Shinjuku Store
Dates: March 29th - April 4th
Location: Isetan Shinjuku Main Building, 1st Floor = The Stage
Time: 10:30am - 8pm
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■Beams Japan
Dates: March 29th - April 11th
Location: Beams Japan, 1st Floor
Time: 11am - 8pm
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【Interview Cooperation】
"OPEN STUDIO"
Address: 672-2 Honjo-cho, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City
Telephone: 096-366-5964
Opening Hours: 9am - 6pm
Closed: Open every day