Inspiration

I'm often inspired by old objects, bits and pieces found in various places.  What may be precious or valueless, trendy or unfashionable- these things really don't matter.  The important thing is to expose oneself to a variety of references and archives, and to encounter something that moves you.

One day, whilst perusing at a flea market, I stumbled upon a peculiar antiques booth that really caught my eye, something I had seldom seen before.

Every antique piece collected by the booth's owner had its own special charm; from driftwood, wood carvings, old fabric from a yogi (kimono-shaped comforter), to bowls - all amazing items, all beautifully aged.  In each one of these items I could sense this man's distinct aesthetic, his special eye for beauty.

While viewing his booth's goods, I curiously overheard a conversation between the booth owner and a rather academic-looking customer.

"This item, it's from the Edo Genroku period, isn't it?" asked the customer.

"I'm not really sure to be honest." replied the gentle owner, "I wasn't there at that time so I do not know.  I leave those matters to scholars like you to study.  I am simply selling things that move my heart." 

While it is sometimes fun to theorize through logic and analysis, those ways of understanding our surroundings alone fail to allow a chord to be struck within us. That unique intangible that you can't quite comprehend with your head - where does that feeling come from? I want to design products that evoke an emotional connection.

Trying to think of some of the inspirational objects that I had felt a strong emotion with over years of collecting, I carefully selected then laid them out on boards together.

An old brass stencil set bought at an antique mall in Los Angeles; a pencil-sketched drawing of a cowboy by an unknown artist; a Nishijin-ori fabric swatch folder book discovered at an old bookstore in Kyoto; trade beads originally found by the Colorado River; a colorful spark plug from the 1920's; hand carved wooden toy boots from somewhere in America; necklaces I made for my wife and daughter from shells I picked up on the shores of Miyako-jima; a handmade banjo...

I didn't really know what attracted me to these objects at first, but it wasn't simply their physical form or appearance. Each item has moved me in a different and profound way.

Rather than rationalizing with my head, it's more of an interpretation of a feeling inside myself. That's how my design process starts - looking within my heart.

Dissertation on revealing the inspiration

visvim Spring and Summer 2016