TOGETHER: Koen Tossijn, Studio the Future x Sugikoujou
杉工場 × クーン・トッサイン「トゥギャザー」
Koen Tossijn, Studio the Future x Sugikoujou
Feb. - Apr. 2019
Product Design | Publication
Supported by Ukiha City, Dutch Embassy, Studio the Future
うきは市の老舗家具工場 杉工場 と、アムステルダムのアーティスト・ユニット
『スタジオ・ザ・フューチャー』、服飾デザイナー クーン・トッサインによる
家具の共同制作プロジェクト
⇨日本語での詳しい内容はこちら (杉工場のサイト)
Leading up to the AIR Project
The ideas for the project first sprouted when the duo Studio the Future (Vincent Schipper and Klara Van Duijkeren) visited Ryoko Baba (Omnicent) in Ukiha in 2016 through the connection built by Ukiha’s artists in residence programs.
During this first stay, they met people including Ukiha City’s vice mayor and artists from the region, and visited shops and galleries in Ukiha gathering inspirations and information.
Then in 2018, Vincent returns to Sugikoujou, the Century-old furniture factory, with the proposal of the joint product development with the designer Koen Tossijn. He had recently curated the publishing project in collaboration with a Japanese art/fashion magazine Quotation to introduce up&rising creators from Amsterdam, and Koen was among the 10 artists he featured there.
Koen meets Sugikoujou
The project started in Feb. 2019 as Koen comes to stay and work with Sugikoujou people with a goal of producing a prototype of furniture products.
Vincent and Klara also came to do research, photoshoots and writing of the whole project. They would take a significant part in curation of the overall collaboration, publication of a book and video clips of the process, and the venue set-up at the final prototype presentation.
Vincent and Klara starting a research
Koen’s 2nd visit + presentation
Presentation of the prototypes and the AIR project took place in April 2019.
Studio the Future oversaw the installation of the venue and creation of the book, fliers and video-show, while Koen finalizes the prototype with the craftsmen of Sugikoujou.
Fliers, videos and books were also hand-made on site!
After this match-making project, Sugikoujou signed Koen up as a designer to produce a new line of furniture. The collaboration has continued since then, bearing a fruit of jointly produced line which was launched recently.
https://sugikojo.com/news/3955/
