It's started to get cooler in the morning and evening, finally putting my body at ease.

As I said in my post of last month, we held a washi lampshade workshop at a Rin crossing event in Tokyo.

The workshop consisted of two parts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
We thank those of you who came and took part in the workshop despite the rain.

It seemed that most participants created something with wet hands for the first time in a while. They were all absorbed in tearing and pasting pieces of washi.

Here are photos of some of the washi lampshades made by the participants.
(We thank Mr. S for providing the photos.)

These are unique, nice lamps. It is interesting that each one gives off light in a different way.

A big brother participated with his little brother.
Their smiles are charming. They were working really hard in silence.
We appreciate their efforts.

(We thank Mr. S for providing the photos.)

There was also a couple who participated with their daughter.
The lampshade in the front has a cat portrayed on it. Amazing!

The texture of washi is well represented, and the warmth of the light is nice.

While the lamp is subdued in color, the washi paper and strings tinged with violet give it a remarkable feature.

I led the workshop, and I apologize to the participants for my poor performance.
When it comes to washi lampshades, you can never create the same thing again.
I hope that all the participants had a great time.

Seeing the participants devoted to the work and their smiles made me very happy.

I also thank Rin crossing for giving us this opportunity.

Because of the rainy season, which started on June 26, and the typhoon, we had heavy rain in Tottori this weekend.

Today, it has been drizzling nonstop since morning.

These bad weather conditions make us crave for sunny summer days.

I should have written about this much sooner, but we exhibited our products at the "Lounge of Japanese Design and Lighting" in the LIGHTING FAIR exhibition, which took place on March 8 - 11. I returned to Tottori after attending our booth only on the opening day.

My coworkers told me later that the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, the final day of the exhibition, throwing the people present at the site into a panic. That day, I was working on my PC when I learned the news about the earthquake, which turned out to be a devastating disaster.

We offer our deepest condolences to those who lost their lives in the Great East Japan Earthquake and extend our heartfelt sympathy to those afflicted by this disaster. We also pray for quick recovery of the affected regions.

Our booth was planned and organized by Mr. Hiroshi Nagane of Tokyo Design Party.

All the other booths of the LIGHTING FAIR exhibition featured LEDs as the main theme. In contrast, the "Lounge of Japanese Design and Lighting" offered an opportunity to think about the structure and meaning of light, adding a depth to our exhibit.

Japan now faces an unprecedented situation. Lights illuminating families in their homes matter even more at a time like this.

We keep this in mind when we create washi lamps.

We hope that our products bring heart-warming moments to as many people as possible.

I wanted to inform you in advance, but I was so busy preparing for the exhibition that I didn't have the time to write about it until today.

Last month, we took part in the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) held in New York, the US.

This was the first time that we participated in an American exhibition. I was concerned about how people would react to our seamless three-dimensional washi lamps. What should we do if no one showed interest? While I had these anxieties in my mind, the opening day came very quickly.

We had many visitors from Day 1 and were very busy throughout the day having a hard time communicating with the American staff.

The exhibition was a four-day event and, overall, many people loved our seamless three-dimensional washi lamps. Some of them visited our booth two or three times, murmuring words of praise like "Amazing!" and "Oh, my baby!" Among the products we put on display, the most popular one was the Mokumoku-Pendant. It seems that its irregular cute shape appeals to Americans.

Talking with the visitors (in broken English, of course), I noticed that everyone was smiling when they looked at our washi lamps.

I thought it would be great if this warmth of the washi lamps became known to more people and made them smile.

Now, let me write a little about the city of New York.

In sharp contrast to the spell of snowy weather we had till yesterday, there are patches of blue in the sky today.

Buds are swelling on trees. The season has finally arrived that brings colors back to the landscape.

This post is about an event that took place last month. We participated in the Japanese Living Craft Exhibition of NIPPON MONO ICHI held at Tokyo International Forum.

http://monoichi.smrj.go.jp/ (URL of the NIPPON MONO ICHI website)

An event called MONO ICHI was held where six famous people were asked to choose products they liked, and our three-dimensional washi lamp was chosen by Ms. Shimoda, the editor of Modern Living magazine.

We were very excited. Here is the comment that she gave when announcing her choice.

"Instead of flat paper, the seamless three-dimensional washi lamp from Taniguchi Washi uses three-dimensional washi, which is quite unconventional. Irregular shapes are beautiful. This lamp has made me certain that unpretentious, "as-is" design is admirable by international standards."

We were extremely happy that Ms. Shimoda appreciated the substance of our work.

We were also glad that many people attended the event.

We thank those of you who came.

Our 3D washi lampshades also got online coverage.

・THE DAILY KOGEI

http://dailykogei.blogspot.com/2011/02/3d-washi.html

We appreciate the attention.

We will exhibit our products at the "Lounge of Japanese Design and Lighting" in the LIGHTING FAIR exhibition, which starts on March 8.

http://www.shopbiz.jp/lf/special/#harmonylounge

Rather than an "exhibit," our booth will be more like a "lounge" where people sit and relax to experience the effect and meaning of the light of lamps - something that no one has ever seen before.

Please come and see our products.