My design work is featured in the book Design Elements: Color Fundamentals, A Graphic Style Manual for Understanding How Color Affects Design by Aaris Sherin – A useful guide on colour theory, rules, applications, and how to break the rules!
Thread Counts: textile products from Laos
Eastern Weft is a textile workshop based in Vientiane, Laos, founded by Samorn Sanixay and Kaisy Sophabmixay. The textiles are entirely handmade and fuse traditional Lao techniques with contemporary designs. Natural and locally sourced dyes such as indigo, ebony, and marigolds, are used.
The workshop employs weavers from ethnic minorities and helps them achieve sustainable livelihoods through fair wages, education, and creativity. Each of them have distinctive skills and techniques that are reflected in the uniqueness of the products.
Laos has an abundance of traditional textile techniques that are practiced through more than 60 different ethnic groups. Among the more typical ones are ikat, embroidery, applique, batik, and backstrap loom. As handmade textiles, these products combine their slight imperfections with charm and authenticity.
Aside from scarves and fabrics, Eastern Weft boasts a line of children’s clothing called Minorities Kids. The garments are produced from fabric remnants and vintage textiles that include silk, hemp, wool, jute, and cotton.
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Kaisy Sophabmixay was born in Hua Phan Province in Northeastern Laos, a region well-known for its weaving, fabrics, and tapestries.
Samorn Sanixay was born in Laos and grew up in Australia. She returned to Laos in 2002 to work as a volunteer English teacher and as a writer for UNICEF. She met Kaisy who had a stall selling antique clothes and fabrics. She later learned traditional weaving under her mentorship. As their friendship developed, they decided to start a weaving cooperative, purchased old looms from a rundown weaving factory, and with little money, together built a boarding house for young weavers.
Images: Eastern Weft
[2012] Sweet
菓子型 [KASHIGATA]
These sugar cake molds are traditionally carved from centuries-old cherry wood to make dry kashi sweets that are sold in confectionary stores across Japan.
Very few craftsmen still make these objects that have become revered collectible items.
Dry kashi sweets come in all shapes and colours and are typically served at tea ceremonies.
Wishing you a sweet new year ~
Poster for Tomorrow
Earlier this year I was kindly invited to be one of the online judges for Poster4Tomorrow, an international poster competition that promotes the Right to Education and Education for All. The best posters are exhibited around the world including Paris at Les Arts Décoratifs from 8 to 11 December.
[Taipei] INDIGO Mother Tongue Exhibition at Originality 100
My work was showcased at the INDIGO Mother Tongue Exhibition at Originality 100, an international conference on visual communication design at the National Taiwan University of Arts during the IDA World Design Congress 2011. The exhibition was curated by David Lancashire, and co-organized by ICOGRADA, the Taiwan Graphic Design Association, and Art Charity Taiwan.
About the work:
This dictionary has been present in the family household since my parents moved from Tokyo to Paris in 1979. None of us could speak a word of French back then.
This object quickly became indispensable in everyday life and served as connector between our home where Japanese was spoken, and the outside world where French was omnipresent.
Today, as I look at this dictionary, I am reminded that somewhere along the way, some of my Japanese got lost. But the words that I have forgotten are all in this book to be found again.
LHR
Feeling the chilly autumn breeze as I get off the 747 aircraft, semi-awake, while my head is filled with warm impressions of Southeast Asia.
