Author Introduction (in alphabetical order)

  • Kayo Aoyama

    After graduating from Osaka University of Foreign Studies, she went to Europe and studied textile design at HDK Gothenburg University of Arts and Crafts. After gaining experience at local wallpaper manufacturers and Minä Perhonen, she works as a freelance designer. Her delicate brushstrokes that make use of the blurring of colors and wavering lines of various drawing materials, and her warm and inviting style, have gained her popularity.
    List of Works 

  • Ado, Makiko Watanabe

    An animal-loving painter. During her studies at Tokai University's School of Animal Science, she spent a short time in Kenya to engage in wildlife conservation. Thinking about what she could do for animals, she began her artistic endeavors. After graduation, she worked as a contract employee at Kumamoto City Zoological and Botanical Garden. She continues her activities, exploring ways to express the relationship between humans and animals and the nature of life itself. Click here for the Fukabori Column
    List of Works 

  • Ayano Ichiyanagi

    Born and residing in Shizuoka Prefecture. Majored in graphic design and began working as an artist. After studying traditional dyeing in Kyoto, she develops fabrics and fashion items under the theme of "wearing paintings." Her watercolor paintings, which depict nature and plants as if cutting out daily life like a diary, are regularly presented at solo exhibitions.Click here for the author's column.
    List of Works 

  • Yoko Inoue

    Graduated from Kyoto University of Art and Design, Department of Oil Painting. The artist presents landscapes seen during travels around the world and daily scenes in Japan through their unique perspective, creating drawings and collages. In addition to regular creative activities, the artist works across various boundaries, including providing artwork for book covers and CD jackets, and publishing their own books.Click here for a detailed column
    List of Works 

  • Elisa Defossez Kikuchi

    Elisa studied industrial design at La Cambre in Brussels and textiles at Aalto University in Helsinki. After working as a designer for Hermès, she is now based in Finland and Japan, creating designs that bring warmth to everyday life through delicate colors and materials inspired by nature. Click here for an in-depth column.
    List of Works 

  • ELEMENTI ART

    Completed graduate studies at Musashino Art University. During her studies, she visited Northern Europe and was greatly influenced by the diverse crafts, beautiful cityscapes, and nature. Afterwards, she spent many years in the creative department of a company, planning and producing designs for European and American markets, traveling abroad, and encountering numerous works of art. These experiences and encounters form the foundation of her current creative work. Read more in-depth here
    List of Works 

  • Nanako Okawa

    Born on Shodoshima Island, Kagawa Prefecture. Completed the printmaking course at Musashino Art University Graduate School. A woodblock print artist who expresses traditional techniques with a modern sensibility. She depicts everyday objects and landscapes with soft, ambiguous colors, creating warm and inviting works. She mainly holds solo and group exhibitions at galleries in Tokyo, regularly presenting her artwork.
    List of Works 

  • Rieko Oka

    Pattern artist. Born in Hokkaido in 1981, currently residing there. Graduated from Hokkaido Tokai University Graduate School of Art and Design. Presides over the textile brand "ten to sen moyo seisakujo." Her works, which draw inspiration from the changing seasons and weather, sounds, and memories, are highly acclaimed across various fields, and collections of her works have been regularly published since 2012. Click here for the in-depth column.
    List of Works 

  • OBUSUMA x Rika Kawato

    OBUSUMA is a wood product brand launched by the OBUSUMA Welfare Association Hannou Business Office, a social welfare corporation located in Hannou City, Saitama Prefecture. With Rie Kawato as its art director, OBUSUMA creates opportunities for self-expression for people with disabilities who support the production of OBUSUMA products, and engages in art activities to discover and nurture talent.
    List of Works 

  • Kanoa

    An artist from Osaka Prefecture. She expresses the imaginary landscapes that suddenly come to mind in everyday life using a variety of materials, including acrylic paints, colored pencils, and crayons. She hopes her work will soothe the hearts of viewers and holds events irregularly at cafes and galleries.
    List of Works 

  • Natsuki Camino

    Illustrator and textile designer. In 2018, won the bronze prize in the graphic design category of the A' Design Award, an international competition in Italy. Featured by the German art publisher TASCHEN as one of the world's most promising illustrators, this artist is expected to achieve international success.
    List of Works 

  • Kishin

    An artist who creates quiet, inclusive works that allow viewers to reset their minds as if taking a deep breath, without aggressively imposing emotions or ideas. Through solo exhibitions and other events, the artist continues to steadily produce two-dimensional and sculptural works, disseminating highly catalytic pieces that challenge the sensibilities of the audience. Click here for the in-depth column
    List of Works 

  • Jin Kitamura

    An illustrator and picture book author. Studied art and design at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Tokai University. Specializes in animal paintings done in crayon, her style utilizes smudges and distortions, and her skillful use of modern layouts and color schemes has gained her popularity. Currently, in addition to creating picture books and holding solo exhibitions, she also works as a part-time lecturer at Kobe University of Art and Technology, dedicating herself to the development of young talent.
    List of Works 

  • Quarterly Report

    A textile manufacturer that produces and sells interior fabrics under the concept of "appreciating, enjoying, experiencing, and manipulating fabric." In addition to providing materials and designs to fashion brands and product manufacturers, they also undertake numerous collaborations with other industries, such as book cover designs and graphic advertisements.
    List of Works 

  • Aki Kurihara

    An oil painter. After graduating from the oil painting department of the Women's Art University, she studied VFX at Digital Hollywood. She collects information on scenery of places she has never been to and things that catch her eye, collaging them in her mind, and creates works with deliberately unbalanced compositions. Her style evokes a comfortable sense of incongruity and relaxation in the viewer, as if they were in the space between reality and unreality.
    List of Works 

  • Asami Sato

    Born in 1977 and from Sapporo. Asami Sato Design Office and Ascendada Inc. Her designs, reflecting her unique sense of timing and sensibility, have been incorporated into various spaces and media both domestically and internationally, from artwork for stores and public spaces to magazine editing and collaborative product creation with renowned brands.Click here for a detailed column
    List of Works 

  • Naoko Shimagami

    After graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Kyoto Seika University, I have been active as an artist. I have a track record of winning awards and being selected for numerous exhibitions, and in recent years I have held solo exhibitions both domestically and internationally every year. Believing that travel is the source of my creativity, I project the stimulation and discoveries born from shaking up the environment by detaching myself from reality into my works. I aim to create paintings that do not restrict the viewer's imagination, but rather allow them to feel with free ideas and their five senses.
    List of Works 

  • JoyStream

    We are a creative company that handles various projects, including direction for visual and audio content, and design and production, primarily for websites. While we work with clients on a wide variety of platforms both domestically and internationally, we also leverage the unique personalities and skills of our members to create and publish original works.
    List of Works 

  • Masaru Suzuki

    Textile designer and professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. After graduating from the Textile Design Department of Tama Art University, she worked at Awatsuji Hiroshi Design Office. After becoming independent in 1995, she has been involved in projects for various manufacturers and brands both domestically and internationally, including her own brand, as well as designing for Marimekko, Camper, and Uniqlo.
    List of Works 

  • Yumi Takimoto

    Born in Tokyo. An abstract painter who "paints with paint". Completed the Oil Painting Course in the Fine Arts Department of Musashino Art University Graduate School. While still a student, her works were repeatedly selected for exhibitions, and she has held solo exhibitions regularly since 2016. Using a palette knife, she converses with the paint, creating patch-like color mixtures and overlaps, pursuing the individuality and charm of the paint. Click here for an in-depth column
    List of Works 

  • Masanao Taniguchi

    A chef and artist living in Fukuoka Prefecture. While cooking by the sea in Itoshima, she overlays images onto the scenery she sees, creating abstract paintings with the sea as their theme. Exploring the harmony of natural expressions and lines, she cherishes the commonality between painting and cooking—the act of "seeing, feeling, and experiencing"—aiming to create works that leave a lasting impression on the viewer.
    List of Works 

  • Tansan Design Studio

    Founded by textile designers Tomoaki Mizuno and Wakana Ino, the studio is located in the lush natural landscape of Shiga. They have expanded their activities both domestically and internationally, including creating year-round illustrations for Takashimaya department stores, exhibiting at the "150 Years of Japonisme" exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, providing design guidance in Mongolia, and developing products in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
    List of Works 

  • Satomi Tanji

    After graduating from university, she worked as a flight attendant for a foreign airline, then began her artistic career after giving birth. She is active both in Japan and internationally, including holding her first solo exhibition overseas in Taiwan in 2021. She primarily creates abstract paintings using alcohol ink and acrylics, often incorporating foil as an accent to evoke a sense of light.Read the deep dive column here
    List of Works 

  • Kuniko Nagano

    Embroidery artist and representative of the accessory brand ga.la. After graduating from Sanga Art University, she worked as an etcher and textile designer before becoming involved in the family embroidery business. Her unique embroidery works, which utilize the organic lines of plants, are loved by celebrities, and since the brand's launch in 2015, she has been exhibiting her works at solo and group exhibitions held throughout Japan.
    List of Works 

  • Hiroko Hashimoto

    A watercolor artist from Ehime Prefecture, currently residing in Kagawa Prefecture. After graduating from the Western Painting Course in the Fine Arts Department of Nara Art Junior College and gaining experience as a web designer, she began her artistic career in 2020. Fascinated by the unique bleeding and transparency of watercolors, and the accidental outlines of colors created when they interact, she now exhibits her works primarily through solo exhibitions in her local area.Click here for the Fukabori Column
    List of Works 

  • HAyU. Manabu Ogawa

    A wire artist who has gained attention for her unique style of wire animal heads, creating delicate yet bold works. She made her debut as an artist at the Omotesando Art Fair in 2017 and currently designs goods, including displays for public facilities and textiles. Her wire works are so popular that they are sold by lottery.
    List of Works 

  • Murata Tomoko

    With the theme of "Quietly bringing small happiness to the heart," she captures scenes that have resonated with her in everyday life and expresses them in textile and drawing. In addition to creating original textiles and paper goods and providing designs to companies, she also writes a series of illustrations for Magazine House.
    List of Works 

  • Jurianne Matter

    After studying interior design in Amsterdam, and working as an IKEA stylist, among other roles, she launched her eponymous design studio, "Jurianne Matter," in 2008. She sends only designs that she deems "beautiful" to over 30 countries worldwide, with criteria including whether the materials are environmentally friendly and whether the products are sustainable. Click here for the in-depth column
    List of Works 

  • Yumi Yoshimoto

    Textile designer and faculty member at Tokyo Zokei University. She creates patterns that leverage a hand-drawn touch, incorporating textures from etching and dynamic line art. Based in Nishikatsura-cho, Yamanashi Prefecture, a renowned textile producing region, she is widely active both in Japan and internationally, from planning and designing fabric products to collaborating with companies.Click here for the Fukabori column.
    List of Works 

  • Yusuke Yonezu

    He began his career as a picture book author after being selected for the 2005 Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy. Since then, he has created many picture books, which have been published worldwide in Asia, Europe, and America. He is also expanding his activities as an illustrator, developing stationery goods in Japan.Click here for in-depth column
    List of Works 

  • Kenichiro Watanabe

    Representative of furniture workshop "STANDARD TRADE.". Part-time lecturer at Kanagawa University, Department of Architecture. Designs and produces products and spaces for homes and stores, utilizing high-quality oak wood and traditional techniques. Also handles the repair, restoration, and reproduction of historically significant furniture, such as the Imperial Hotel and Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the desk and chair beloved by Lafcadio Hearn.Click here for an in-depth column.
    List of Works 
1 31

Return to the top page.