Published on : Wednesday, June 18, 2014
The Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC), together with SPRING Singapore, led a group of 19 delegates to Japan for a span of 12 days, from May 11– 22, 2014, for SingaPlural’s inaugural design mission. The delegates comprised of independent designers, entrepreneurs and design institutions.
The SingaPlural’s design mission is a rethink and revamp of the preceding design study missions that SFIC organises on an annual basis. These erstwhile missions to Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Sweden, emphasised on design personalities, designer furniture companies and retailers. Dissimilar to that, SFIC and SPRING Singapore focuses on SingaPlural’s trip to Japan as a beneficial conduit to provide Singapore-based designers with an in-depth understanding at craftsmanship and manufacturing facilities. This underpins a solid foundation for successful collaborations between designers and manufacturers.
The design mission kicked off in Tokyo, which is unquestionably the city where business and design traverses. It was an insightful overview of the design industry and design-led retailers in Japan where the mission delegates visited prolific furniture showrooms and design enclaves. Furniture-producing towns like Asahikawa in Hokkaido, as well as Morodomi and Okawa in Kyushu were noteworthy educational stopovers for the designers. Other than manufacturers of wooden toys, tatami mats and glassware, the delegates also had the opportunity of meeting a shōji screen master-craftsman who introduced them to the almost-lost art of intricate wooden screen-making, as well as studying and understanding the production processes in these towns.
A remarkable highlight of the trip was the eye-opening sojourn to the world-famous ceramics town, Arita, eminent for its fine porcelains. Here at the Arita College of Ceramics, a workshop is specially held for participants to experience ceramic painting.
Tags: japan, SPRING Singapore, The Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC), Tokyo
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