 |
New decade, new hopes, dreams and fears.
These last few years, I’ve been adjusting to life on the coast my parents came from, trying to get a handle on yet another culture (Northern California, North Bay, between San Francisco and Santa Rosa) and coming to grips with the new reality that started unfolding just as my mom was dying in the spring of 2008. I find myself uninterested in design that isn’t working to solve a real problem, and yet strangely fascinated by design that is beautiful, full of joy in the process of creating tactile sensations meant to be treasured. A prime example of this is the work of minä perhonen, the Japan-based lifestyle brand whose book, minä? [sic.] I’ve just finished translating with my partner Yukiko Naito, as the translation team Takumi Translation. The aspect of the beauty of minä perhonen that appeals to me most on a personal level is their insistence on keeping the focus on the experience of their work, the final product being a happening, not a thing. Like my parents did in their work, both graphic and 3D, minä perhonen works to find the processes that lead to a layering of experience, in which the wearer of the clothing or the user of the furniture gradually comes to understand and cherish the textile and the creative process, always evident. The Takumi website just went live, and I’m hoping that this year will bring us even more projects that open the world, to us and to those leaping the language and culture barriers with creative endeavors.
|
|
Welcome
to my site. For 20 years I've been writing magazine
and newspaper articles and books about design, architecture,
and Japan. On maggietext.com, you'll find links
to some of my favorite work, as well as comments
on recent ideas. Feel free to 
