Monday, February 25, 2013

Truck & Bird

Surprisingly the interior design that we were able to hunt out while in Japan was generally underwhelming.  Most furniture stores we found were minimal, midcentury american styled furniture that wasn't all that inspiring.  Since Japan's design all feels so well thought out and perfected this came as a surprise to me not to find something new or unexpected.  Luckily this was not the case when we searched out and arrived at Truck.
I have read articles about this place for 4 or 5 years now.  Off and on there will be postings on remodelista or some other furniture mag too.  I am so glad we took the time to track down their physical store while we were in Osaka.  It took us way off the beaten path, but that was almost always worth it when it came to exploring in Japan (we find that most places actually).
Truck is a husband and wife team that has been building not only furniture, but a brand for quite a while now.  Their store has a vibe and a lifestyle to it that is hard to describe, but is unmistakable once you are in the place.  It's the kind of place that you just want to live in, not just shop in.  Apart from their furniture they also had some beautifully selected and edited home goods and clothing pieces.  This type of shop would be a dream to own and run.

My spy photo I took, Tom was asked not to take photos by a sales person so I felt lucky I snapped one quick from the get go ….
I was able to swipe some pics from the website luckily to show off some more of their pieces though








Everything in the store feels humble, understated, yet well executed in every way.  Every finish and detail feels like it's had a human touch which I find so comforting compared to the cold mass produced stuff we are usually around.
After wandering the store for at least an hour we shuffled across the street to Bird - a cafe designed by Truck.  It has that same homey, lived in feel.  Like time hasn't just stood still, but just doesn't matter at all.  We enjoyed the respite after a wild day of traveling.
Here are some detail pics I caught of Bird.






Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Japanese Patterns

No corner seems to have gone untouched in this country
Beautiful details everywhere your eye wonders