Amaca’s pop up stores featuring printed designs from Rossi, have an added element of design: new Rossi designer boxes.
Some of the most famous floral designs of Rossi 1931, were used in the creation of the 2016 Spring & Summer AMACA (by Sanyo Shokai) collection. Now, in their retail pop-up boutiques, are additional design features: boxes made from popular Rossi designs by Kyoto artisan box maker, Box and Needle.
This project was developed by Rossi customer, Box and Needle, and parent company, Marushige Shiki – located in Kyoto, Japan. Marushige has been manufacturing folding cartons for pottery, foods, sweets, and many consumer goods, as a wholesaler, since 1919. Box and Needle was opened in 2009 and is the first of its kind in the world… an actual specialty box store where all the boxes are made by hand by local artisans.
Boxes are made from manufactured paper, as well as an assortment of handmade washi paper, crafted in Kyoto, some which is made from a variety of raw materials… Indian cotton, Japanese mulberry, and others. These materials produce many different looks, textures and patterns on the boxes as do their letterpress papers and woodblock prints. Paper is also sourced from craftsmen around the world… 17 different countries including Italy, the UK, India, and Nepal and brought back to the Box & Needle workshop in Kyoto where each and every box is handmade by artisans into various shapes, sizes and uses to sell and display in their second store, which opened in Tokyo in 2014.
Store spokesperson, Aya, said “especially we like papers which have stories like some of the Rossi papers. “
Managing director and primary designer Kyoko Onishi, specializes in paper arts and crafts and came up with the concept of Box and Needle, ”as a way to share Kyoto’s hospitality”. She continues, “A box is just empty space. And, in that empty place, we have the possibility to put beauty, no matter what you put in. It’s an exciting feeling to wonder what you will put into it… for infinity. ”
Their theory is that “ sometimes ‘boxes are just containers which are then thrown away, so we wanted to make boxes that are something special which never gets easily thrown away.”
A large part of the business is offering workshops so that people can make their own boxes. Workshops are offered in both the Kyoto shop and at certain times in the studio of the Futakotamagawa (North Tokyo) store/second floor.
“We usually sell the boxes exclusively in our own shops, but sometimes we do pop-up shops like Amaca. We did a project in collaboration with Amaca. This project consisted of giving a demonstration at Hankyu Department store in Osaka on how to make boxes using Rossi papers.”
In addition to boxes, other paper designs and creations are available… file folders, fans, envelopes and any type of container one can imagine.
Box and Needles calls their products, “paper works that light up life”.
Kyoko Onishi is the creative force behind the workshops, “Now, one is not just buying a box, but also the charm and individuality of the box by allowing people to experience the process of making it.”
If you’d like to buy a Box and Needle design, they are available in Futakotamagawa, (Tokyo), the Kyoto atelier (workshop) or, ONLINE SHOP , where you can find paper by the sheet as well as finished boxes and lots of products, and various department stores in Japan, such as Amaca.
http://boxandneedle.shop-pro.jp
Click side bar on the left side, then you’ll see more papers and boxes.
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