Vessels & More at Higashiya Shop

A rather enticing selection of vessels at Japanese store Higashiya, who seem to have quite a variety in their online shop. All these different categories of inspiration can sometimes be overwhelming, but it’s something that I think both of us here have adapted to. This blog is the perfect place to shed light on things that are inspiring, even if that falls into a totally different category to what we’ve talked about before (hopefully every now and then we surprise you!). I feel like this imagery is quite contrasting in terms of the different objects that are highlighted, you’ve got a mixture of copper, brass, iron, tin, glass, even porcelain and pottery pieces. To be fair, this is really down to the good work of Higashiya who’ve done fantastic job at mixing up the categories. That’s something we’re definitely trying to achieve with our own online shop, to have a selection of items in each category or under a particular material, so it’s not one dimensional or boring, plus it gives the option to highlight items that aren’t explored in this part of the world (lacquerware for example).

Another link to all this is the fact that I’m nearing the finish of my newest read ‘The Unknown Craftsman’ by Soetsu Yanagi. I’ve been frantically placing sticky notes on pretty much every page in regards to influencing sentences and quotes, it’s just full of them! Bernard Leach in-particular has some great things to say about Shoji Hamada and his way of thinking, also who would’ve known they’d meet Charles Eames out of everyone?! Quite enthralling if you think about it, the old generation (at that time) meeting the newer generation at the Eames house in California, they must of had some amazing discussions.

So I’m going to go through now and pick out some of my favourite objects and their uses. It only seems natural to point out the image below as a fascinating vessel, this comes in a brass and copper version and can be used as either a vase or for soy sauce (any liquid in fact). A couple down from the droplet vessel is a beautiful iron ashtray with a lid, this has a lacquer type paint to get the almost rustic effect, and the patterns are all set in to the metal. Although I’m not a smoker myself I can picture one of those on a side table with some small cherished items inside, perfect heirloom since it will develop with age. Another art of interest is glasswork, since we don’t come across it all that often, and here I’ve highlighted a simple glass saucer that can be used for snacks or other small knick knacks. They’re very functional but are ultimately precise and are all made with detail and quality in mind. Hopefully you’ll agree with how great their selection is at Higashiya and you’ll have a browse of their website tonight, plenty to find on there!

www.higashiya-shop.com

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