BEAMS&CO curated an exhibition of Japanese coveted craft makers at CIFF 59 in Copenhagen, Denmark titled JAPAN: CRAFT & SUSTAIN in cooperation with Essence of Japan – JETRO presenting Japanese mastery craftsmanship alongside with 5 Japanese lifestyle brands who have been gaining international recognition, debuting their collection for the first time outside of Japan.

JAPAN CRAFT & SUSTAIN spotlights a selection of 10 Japanese craft makers and artisanal techniques with traditional craftsmanship with unique touches. They champion locality, quality and responsible manufacturing that’s made to last, provide functionality as well as showcase the beauty of everyday objects.

Alongside JAPAN: CRAFT & SUSTAIN, BEAMS&CO curated an array of 5 Japanese lifestyle brands debuting at CIFF for the first time in cooperation with CIFF, to showcase the originality of their design, unique fabric and finishes and the quality of their production.

Participating makers and brands:

Asakano Gama (ceramics)

Ceramic Japan (ceramics)

Cocorostore (folklore/Mingei)

Shinto Towel (textiles)

iwatemo (ceramics)

Uchiwaya Ryo (Kougei)

Koizumi Glass (Glassware)

tempo (Kinetic mobile Sculptors)

Hirota Glass (Glassware)

SHIROAO (ceramics)

Aton

Ayame

Cotodama Lyric Speakers

Kaptain Sunshine

LEINWÄNDE

Oliver Sim, sought-after songwriter, bassist and vocalist for The xx, has released his long-awaited first solo album, “Hideous Bastard”, and has simultaneously produced a short film work tied to the album.

The project is also a total visual production, with a special screening during the Critics’ Week at the Festival de Cannes.

BEAMS has collaborated with the project to produce all six items – coach jackets, hoodies, T-shirts, long T-shirts, caps and socks – that incorporate the visuals from the film in a special edition.

Available from 9 Sep (JST) at BEAMS HARAJUKU and the official BEAMS online shop.

Taking inspiration from Japan’s many Shōtengai (local market streets) we curated at Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross, Lower Stable Street Market – a mix of stalls featuring Japanese homeware and food in celebration of the Tokyo Olympics. The market consisted of 10 – 12 stalls curated by BEAMS & CO alongside regulars from the Lower Stable Street line-up.

Like most Shōtengai in Japanese cities, a wide range of goods were available including homewares from Native & Co, artisan Japanese breads from Rise Bakery and Bar, and a range of posters from Problem Press. 

Recent work from the acclaimed fashion photographer and director Mika Ninagawa was also exhibited. Entitled Beauty and Power, Ninagawa’s photographs of Japanese Para athletes radiated positivity and colour and displayed using lightboxes on site. A free screening of the film ‘Witches Of The Orient’ was shown on the big screen opposite Granary Square.

Branding, a newspaper brochure and social media content were created for the event.

Featured stall holders:
Bungu
Ki:ts
Native & Co
Nishura East
Notable Designs
Notting Hill Editions
Okan
Pippy Eats
Problem Press / The Printers Devil
Rise Bakery and Bar
Sansho
Speck
tokyobike

BE AT TOKYO is a space where everything happens, representing new voices of creatives from Japan and beyond. The brand name stems from the vibrancy and the underlining beat of Tokyo. 

The logo is inspired by the works of graphic predecessors such as M.C Escher; bringing the ordinary and the esoteric together. It plays with interlocking forms that can be viewed from different perspectives to signify this new physical and digital space where collaborative, innovative thinking and ideas can be born.

BE AT TOKYO is a new online / offline platform, realising new cultures that will lead the next generation. It is a space where all types of creatives meet, collaborate and create a new set of values and experiences.

In collaboration with Natsuki Kikuya, founder of Museum Of Sake, we have designed the label and branding for the UK launch of Tsuchida Brewery’s low-intervention sake, TE TO TE (originating from the meaning, Sky & Hand – 天と手).

Tsuchida Sake Brewery is situated in Kawaba, a small village in Gunma, a mountainous region northwest of Tokyo. Established in 1907, it has been a family operation for six generations.

Natsuki Kikuya is founder of intangible museum Museum of Sake. It provides education and promotion of the craft of sake, connecting Japan to the UK and Europe through a range of special events and courses for the public and food industry. Their activities allow guests to experience the art of sake, discovering the history, land, climate, weather and craftsmanship of the many different regions of Japan. Through an international growth in the popularity and appreciation of Sake, the Museum looks to enrich and extend the history to a new generation within Japan and the wider world.

We designed and art directed an official exhibition product for Olafur Eliasson x TOKYO CULTUART by BEAMS in conjunction with the exhibition ‘Olafur Eliasson; Sometimes the river is the bridge’ taking place at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in Japan.

These collaboration T-shirts, featuring slogan typography, printed in using PVC-free inks, are made out of 100% recycled polyester yarn, regenerated from recycled plastic bottles. Japan has the second highest rate of disposed plastic waster per capita in the world according to UN’s Environment programme’s research published in 2018. This project is brought together in an attempt to raise public awareness about the consequences of climate change and also shed light on the important of renewable energy through art, with an aim of increasing awareness of Olafur Eliasson’s philosophy and exhibitions to a wider audience.

Olafur Eliasson was born in 1967 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and is currently based in Berlin and Copenhagen. Eliasson often uses natural phenomena and is internationally renowned for numerous works. Eliasson has also increased his efforts to advance sustainable development in recent years.

TOKYO CULTUART by BEAMS: A label launched in 2008 to introduce art, design, and culture to the world. The name CULTUART is a coined word combining CULT, CULTURE, and ART. The shop carries a wide range of art and design products, books, and exclusive collector toys including figurines and soft vinyl figures. TOKYO CULTUART captures restless Tokyo to express modern Japan.

We are regularly commissioned by POPEYE magazine – the leading Japanese men’s fashion and cultural title for over 45 years, to undertake research and create editorials, including conducting interviews and producing photographic shoots and editorialising english cultural content. Collaborating with POPEYE closely and frequently we have made creative in some of their most popular issues, including features on world renowned designer Marc Newson and London based skateboarding brand Palace Skateboards.

With their tagline of ‘Magazine for City Boys’, POPEYE Magazine focuses on authentic cultural and lifestyle topics including fashion, food, outdoor activities and travel.

COS commissioned us to be a creative consultant to engage in effective brand exercise in Japan. The brand exercise was to illustrate COS’s brand pillars message –  timeless, modern, classic, tactile through the brand’s wardrobe essential in collaboration with DAIKANYAMA T-SITE in conjunction with COS JAPAN e-commerce launch. Audiences were encouraged to engage with the COS design and learned more about the brand philosophy and design influences with art and architecture through the exhibition, also displayed with selection of books and literatures as the integral part of installation.

DAIKANYAMA T-SITE: Designed by Klein Dytham Architecture, DAIKANYAMA T-SITE is a cultural complex of books, music, and movie retail market by rental chain TSUTAYA in Japan. DAIKANYAMA TSUTAYA BOOKS, the TSUTAYA for grownups, is tied to the theme of “A Library in the Woods.” Three building wings connect together along Magazine Street, a 55-meter long aisle that cuts through the middle at ground level. From this tree-trunk like artery, six book departments branch out by category.Café space is housed within the complex to allow for leisurely in-store browsing.

Ace Hotel London commissioned us to create a series of Kyoto inspired cultural programmes to celebrate the opening of Ace Hotel Kyoto.

Sounds of Kyoto – We commissioned Bonjour Records, a multi-brand lifestyle retailer, to create 2 hours Kyoto-inspired playlist exclusively for Ace Hotel London to be played at their lobby for 2 weeks.

Kyoto Sake Tasting – In a collaboration with Natsuki Kikuya, the director of MUSEUM OF SAKE, we organised a sake tasting event to guide guests to the beauty of sake from Kyoto with an exclusive selection of five sakes from four different breweries. Alongside the tasting event, we designed and produced a booklet for the event to introduce Kyoto’s famed for its sake brewing history and culture.

Small Building of Kyoto – We organised the exhibition with a selection of images from ‘Small Buildings of Kyoto’, a publication that features a wide range of buildings in Kyoto at the lobby bar.

Sake tasting at Ace Hotel London with Natsuki Kikuya of Museum of Sake.

Small Buildings of Kyoto by John Einarsen.

Sounds of Kyoto by Shogo Misume of Bonjour Records x Ace Hotel London.

Bonjour Records is a leading multi-brand cultural and lifestyle retail, championing a discerning taste in sourcing the greatness of greats from all over the world whether it be music, fashion relevant in global and local cultural contexts. It is a platform and place whereby the curious and the open-minded merges.

MUSEUM OF SAKE is an intangible museum, founded by Natsuki Kikuya. It provides education and promotion of the craft of sake, connecting Japan to the UK and Europe through a range of special events and courses for the wider public and food industry.

Small Buildings of Kyoto is a photography book by John Einarsen, the founder of Kyoto Journal. It features 100 images of the quaint homes, businesses, workshops, as well as the occasional neighbourhood shrine and teahouse, that make up the fabric of Japan’s ancient capital.