CH Japan: The Artisans of Kyoto’s GO ON Collective

Our exploration of and partnerships with several local Japanese craftspeople

An exquisite window into Japan‘s heritage, Kyoto‘s gardens, shrines and temples draw in millions of visitors each year. For our CH Japan travel experience (as well as our CH Omakase gift box), Kyoto played an important role for a different reason: its GO ON collective. Young makers, representing the next generation in their family’s traditional craft, bound together to form GO ON. This collective aims to …

CH Japan: Handmade Paper Accessories with Awagami Factory + POSTALCO

Our path from paper-making to a limited edition "wallet"

One of the last artisan paper-making studios in Japan, Awagami Factory specializes in hand-making various types of natural washi paper. Run by the Fujimori family, Awagami dedicates time to developing contemporary uses for washi, as well—its large scale inkjet photography paper is a good example. During our CH Japan travel experience we visited the 8th generation family business in Tokushima. There—among professional papermakers—we learned the …

The Lexus Design Award’s 2020 Finalists

Six innovations offer solutions for problems that include air pollution, visual impairment, flooding and more

Now in its eighth year, the Lexus Design Award honors innovators around the world who formulate clever solutions for everyday challenges. This year’s theme “Design for a Better Tomorrow” prompted applicants “to envision solutions to 21st-century challenges that anticipate, innovate and captivate.” Narrowing the field from more than 2,000 submissions to just six finalists is never an easy process, but this year’s group (from Kenya, …