Woodwork by Maeda Mitsuru will be available on June 22nd->
In today’s all consuming social media age, it feels that people would not pay attention to work that doesn’t look dramatic or eye catching. But often the features that make work stand out in appearance comes at the expense of compromising its function.
So every time I receive work from Japanese woodworker Maeda Mitsuru, I am reminded about his extraordinary ability to stick to making simple and useful wood items.
It is also clear that Maeda-san spends a significant amount of time considering what might improve the user’s experience.
This fall will mark the 14th year since Maeda-san established his studio called Ki-to-te (which means “wood and hand”) in Tokyo, and I feel that his focus is only getting stronger. If you have a day to spare in Tokyo, I encourage you to visit his gallery, which is open most weekends, to see more of his simple and but exquisitely elegant furniture and to meet him, his wife Yumi, and their adorable Shiba dog Moku.
