Journal

Last month, wagumi hosted a rare UK showing of work from Atelier Densan, the Tokyo gallery and shop of Japan's officially recognised traditional crafts. Running to coincide with London Design Festival, the showcase brought together pieces from 75 makers across 50 craft categories, from Aizu-nuri lacquerware and Toyama washi to Bizen stoneware.
 It was a busy nine days during LDF, and the response was better than we'd hoped. Visitors came to see work that is rarely shown outside Japan, and many stayed to talk through the materials and the techniques behind each piece. Thank you to everyone who came by,...

From 14 September 2024, Kagoshima: More Stories in Craft from South Japan, will launch at wagumi.This is the second in our ‘Stories’ series introducing the crafts, culture, human and natural landscapes of this characterful region of Japan. The launch coincides with London Design Festival.The collection is now live here, with more items to be added. Details of some of the stories we presented in the first edition can be seen here, and makers such as Kaori Sasaki / Nohara-ya and the Ryumonji ceramic collective will return for 2024.This year, for the first time we will also present makers and lineages in...

*This blog post dates from the first Kagoshima Stories collection in late 2023. More Stories from Kagoshima, a second instalment, will launch in September 2024.* At wagumi now we have a collection of items from Kagoshima in south Japan. This is entitled Kagoshima: Stories in Craft from South Japan. The collection page can be seen here, as we upload to it.Kagoshima was created from the old Satsuma and Ōsumi domains in the late 19th century, and possesses a very distinct history.It is centred on a city in a bay facing a volcano, and has been a place of periodic eruptions, historical adventures and...

A land of understated minimalism, Japan is equally a place for the bright coloured patterns of kimono. Its tradition in dye is rich, and reflects centuries in development. The colourful partitions between rooms, a folded piece of fabric in a bag, or hanging at the entrance of a temple or business. One the most vibrant techniques is katazome, or stencil dye, which is both part of Japan’s classic and modern language in design.At wagumi for summer 2022, we have a collection from a contemporary exponent of katazome: Toyokazu Ono, who works at his Yotsume dye studio in southern Japan. Ono’s...