ken noguchi

Coil Vessel
Ken Noguchi

My love of Japanese ceramics is endless so imagine how my heart skipped a beat when I saw this work by Ken Noguchi from Ishikawa, Japan even though it's not made from clay. He uses traditional Japanese lacquer to get that gorgeous black colour and apart from lacquer his materials include hemp, paper and string. No wonder he won first prize in the 2009 Nakaoka Craft Competition. Simple, understated beauty. We all need more of this in our lives.

handmade nation

Someone and something exciting I discovered by going to the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair last weekend was Faythe Levine and Handmade Nation. Faythe is a filmmaker, author, independent curator and creative director. In 2006 she traveled around the US interviewing more than 50 crafters and made a documentary film on the rise of DIY and the new wave of art, craft and design titled Handmade Nation. The film is set for release later this year and the following clip is a sneak preview. It looks really really inspiring: