Press Release
Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki by Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara Wins the Silver A' Design Award in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara acknowledged for bakeware, tableware, drinkware and cookware design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki by Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara, designed for Authentic Japan Shunme, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki
Tsuzumi has a symmetrical shape with two cups on either end, and each has a different color. You can use Tsuzumi to serve sake, some kind of strong alcohol, or delicacies, but just displaying it as a piece of art could satisfy you because of its nobility and gracefulness. It harmonizes with almost anything. Normally, makie is applied to the body or the inside bottom, but in the case of Tsuzumi, it is positioned as if it looks peeking out from inside. This is the very essence of Japanese beauty, which is modest but impressive. Layered urushi, tamenuri, creates graceful shades in the cup.
About Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara
Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara, aka Yukino Shunme, is the person who has expertise in several fields including languages and shikki design, and is becoming more and more eager to learn new things, which makes her get inspired in each unique way when she is working on something.
Award Record
Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Award
The A' Kitchenware Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good kitchenware designs by best kitchenware brands and designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to kitchenware designers, product designers, industrial design studios and kitchenware brands from all countries. Typical entries include pots, pans, cutlery, plates, bowls and glasses. The awarded kitchenware designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/kitchenware
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/145709
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/145709
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!145709
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/338149
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://authenticjapanshunme.com
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Tsuzumi Double Sakazuki
- Function
- Double Sakazuki
- Category
- Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home and Food & Hospitality
- Colors
- Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Gray and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Authentic Japan Shunme
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yuko Ishikawa Okuhara
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2022 - 2023
- Design ID
- #145709
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Tsuzumi has a symmetrical shape with two cups on either end, and each has a different color with makie on it. Normally, makie is applied to the body or the inside bottom, but in the case of Tsuzumi, it is positioned as if it looks peeking out from inside. This is the very essence of Japanese beauty - modest but impressive. You can choose either cup to use according to your preference on the day. Furthermore, the body is polished by a roiro specialist to represent the true black, shikkoku. Tsuzumi can be used to serve sake or delicacies, but just displaying it as a piece of art could satisfy you due to its nobility and gracefulness.
- Inspiration
- I believe that aesthetics of things you use as well as their quality is the crucial element for you to enjoy everyday life and that such aesthetics of shikki requires careful manufacturing with natural materials. That’s the key to the unique gloss of Tsuzumi and the way it feels. With its characteristic shape, Tsuzumi harmonizes with almost any style beyond its origin. It is repairable and sustainable, which means it will always be with you. You would know the beauty and values of shikki when you actually see and touch it. Tsuzumi could be a rising star to spread the splendor of traditional handcrafted items.
- Research
- Shikki is categorized as traditional craft in Japan and part of them are protected in some ways mainly under one of the ministries of the government - METI. However, the manufacturers and artisans dealing with a certain kind of shikki - 100% from nature - have, in a sense, certain kinds of difficulties.
- Challenge
- Tsuzumi requires highly-skilled artisans through the entire process of production. The characteristic shape and glossy tamenuri finish of Tsuzumi make it laborious for the artisans to complete each of their procedures. They must be the ones who have experiences and intuition for their arts. However, the number of artisans who have skills high enough to be involved in the traditional production process of this kind of shikki has decreased due to the shrinking market. Such shikki will disappear unless the best effort is actively made to make people understand and enjoy the splendor of such shikki. Tsuzumi is designed to play one of the roles of items in the mission.
- Realization and Technology
- Tsuzumi is handcrafted with totally natural materials, so it is light and has low thermal conductivity, and the curved surface is extremely smooth. Due to such characteristics, you feel pleasant to touch and use it as well as you can enjoy it as an objet d’art. Only the high-skilled turners can work on this item because the finished side, which has been finely carved, must be connected to the turning machine without being damaged. One of the cups is finished in tamenuri that enables you to enjoy not only graceful shades but also its aging with time making its color brighter. It is repairable, so it will always be with you.
- Operation and Interaction
- This design enables people to enjoy the item for a lifetime because the more urushi ages, the more transparent it becomes, and because the item is repairable by re-applying urushi or by mending with gold powder and urushi, adding another taste to the item. The item is made with totally natural materials, so it has high affinity with nature, i.e. eco-friendly.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in October 2019 in Toyama and finished in April 2021 in Ishikawa, and was exhibited at National Art Center, Tokyo, in December 2021.
- Specifications
- Materials: Natural Wood, Diatomaceous Earth Powder, Urushi, Gold Powder Dimensions: Width 65 mm x Depth 65 mm x Hight 100 mm Package: Packed in a high-quality paulownia box with a piece of natural turmeric-dyed cotton cloth
- Keywords
- wood, lacquer, nature, japan, culture, decor, tableware, elegant, beautiful, sake, shunme
