• Design,
• Lifestyle

KUMU Exhibition Recap

This past weekend we held a three-day exhibition entitled Kumu at Nalata Nalata. Oji Masanori and Daisuke Tsumanuma and Kenichi Yamada of 10¹² Terra flew in from Japan for the international debut of their new works at our store. It was an honour to have them in town for a week and we had a blast giving them a tour of New York as they have so graciously done for us during our visits to Japan. 

We held the opening reception for the event on Friday and thus the exhibition set-up commenced the day before. Here are some photos of the products post set-up the morning of the opening along with some photos of the shop as guests began to arrive near the evening and into the night! 

Although Oji Masanori and his friends, Taku and Noriko (owner and curator of the soon to open Kumu in Tokyo) were incredibly jet-lagged, they fought through it like champs to greet guests and introduce the new Jicon vessels and diamond sake decanter designed by Oji himself. 

Attendees even had a chance to test the Jicon vessels for themselves as Natalie, Sujin and Aimee served sake throughout the night with the diamond shaped decanters. The three different stemmed vessels provide a unique sake experience as the shape can influence its perception, aroma and taste. Sakaya in East Village provided the premium sake served and each bottle matched a different region of Japan where the products showcased were manufactured. The crowd favourite was the lucid blue Taisetsu Junmai Ginjo from Hokkaido. 

Kenichi and Daisuke (pictured above) had a stunning display of 10¹² Terra showcase boxes, terrariums and vases. Their latest series, the “Showcase Long” was unveiled for the first time with an incredibly positive response! The concept of this series aligns closely with their other works that highlight the evolution of plant life. The idea is to first place a single fresh flower stem on a pin that protrudes from the oak base, and then flip it upside down to observe the flower dry while enjoying the progress. When it is fully dry, flip the case again and the flower will naturally stand upright! These will be available in both copper and black online soon!

Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of this exhibition and especially to the following makers for their generous support: Jicon, Futagami, Takahashi Kougei, Hayashi Kougei, 10¹² Terra, Mother Tool, MokuNeji, RetRe, Daiyo, Onami, Ibazen, Akarino-Tane, To-Mo-Ni. The products featured at the exhibition and within these photos will be available online soon. 

Special thanks to Armando Rafael Moutela for capturing photos of this special event for us!