It’s no secret, I have an extreme love for Yoshida Kaban’s Porter line, and now comes this: next year sees Porter collaborating with Taito on a SPACE INVADERS series! Have a look at the entire line here. Via Kotaku.
Update: The bags are already on sale. You can buy the green versions on Rakuten, and KDDI has a contest to win pink versions. Thanks, Patrick!
Last week’s issue of TIME (Vol. 170, No. 24) had an interesting piece (unfortunately not online) on the design behind the latest AQUOS line from Sharp. Despite the fact that the line is to be sold in the US and Europe, as well as Japan, the design team is all Japanese, and all based together in Tokyo together. It’s also interesting to note that the models slightly defer depending on the territory (US and Europe prefer sleek design, while Japanese tends to be less showy, more rounded).
And since I’m almost an honorary Gothenburg boy, I should also point out that the same issue has a piece on celebrating Christmas in that city.
Chris Kirby, who is one of the participants of the “PROTOTYPE” exhibition, has put up a Flickr photoset of the event. You have until tomorrow (December 16) to see it yourself.
I posted a while back about the “Imprint Handbag Design Contest,” and now they’ve updated their site, and have also included a gallery of entries. They are still accepting entries until January 21, 2008.
One of the projects that AQ worked on for the Firefox Japan website involved a video contest, the “Get Firefox Video Award.” A gallery where you can view all of the contributions is now up.
Yes, the book has been out for a month or two now, but it’s never too late to celebrate, so head on over to Chin Music Press‘ release party for GOODBYE MADAME BUTTERFLY this coming Tuesday (December 18, 19:00) at the Pink Cow in Shibuya.
You have until Sunday (December 16) to catch Audrey’s “Le nid de l’histoire” exhibition at La Galerie des Nakamura. Audrey will be at the gallery on Saturday, so a good chance to chat with the artist. Here’s an online report on the show, with photos (in Japanese).
Looks like things are advancing quite nicely with the 101TOKYO contemporary art fair, set to premiere April 3-6 of next year. Participants include 28 galleries from 14 countries, and works will cover painting, drawing, photography, video, installation art and sculpture. The event will also coincide with Art Fair Tokyo. More info can be found at the official site.
Architect Keiji Ashizawa helps out over at Neojaponisme by answering questions about the noticeable presence of unadorned concrete exteriors in the city.