All Things Considered

Japanese Craft
Posted by Kate Sullivan

Muji was my first introduction to Japanese style.  Back in the 1990’s, the stores “No Brand Quality Goods” came as a breath of fresh air to the non-labelled-obsessed amongst us.  It was their stationary and the use of un-bleached neutral colours that I liked so much not to mention the very affordable t-shirts and the simplicity and quality of their home-wares.

Over the past years I’d forgotten about Muji and the Japanese approach to design until recently, when I hit upon another form of Japanese style, Zakka.

Wikipedia says about Zakka “The term refers to everything and anything that improves your home, life and outlook. It is primarily based on household items from the West that are regarded as kitsch in their countries of origin.”

The style may be kitsch, can also be slightly cutesy French, but to me, it’s all the things I remember about Muji, simple, tasteful, stylish and
approachable.

If you have some spare creative time and feel inspired to get crafty (oh so fashionable right now) visit Craftlog to get a feel for Zakka and is understated, simplistic style. Many of the contributors listed on this site are from the US, where a wave of knit, appliqué, quilting, rubber-stamping, paper craft and making stuffed toys is reviving craft. It's also worth checking out the list of contributors on the homepage to get further inspiration.

Kitty Craft is another site worth a mention, complete with free down-loadable patterns, written in Japanese but with easy to follow diagrams. 

And finally, if you like the Zakka style, you’ll like Koos, and Tante Tini
Not just a charming website but also a shop in Amsterdam selling covetable and (comfortable) handmade leather shoes.

Posted by Kate Sullivan on March 20th, 2007