Hasta La Ideas

Junya Hirokawa
Editor, Nikkei Design Magazine

As they’ve done in the past, the 2011 Design Tide Tokyo event hosted a number of extension venues exhibiting creative work across the city. Among these, one in particular that caught my attention for its uniqueness and earnest probe around an established notion of material consumption was Yu Yamada’s (SHOP).

(SHOP) was run from 11/2/2011 – 11/13/2011, at the Aoyama Gallery “Raum 1F.” Yamada plans to increase the items for sale and move to different locations. The one pictured here is Yu Yamada.

Yamada is a Tokyo-based retail buyer through his company, Method. True to its name, everything on display is for sale at (SHOP). The items that Yamada has collected at (SHOP) are not design products borne out of demand from the market or consumers. Rather, these objects are the pure, uninhibited work of their creators, who run the gamut from designers to architects. Taken together, the items comprise a highly unique and personal lineup that simply can’t be found anywhere else. Furthermore, these items are not merely for sale on consignment—they are items that Yamada has purchased in full, which should give you an idea of his commitment to his selections.

As a retail buyer, Yamada’s job is to focus on “what will sell.” However, with (SHOP), he can take certain liberties in the interest of eclecticism: “I’m not bound by factors like the creator’s personality or the features and cost of the product that are normally important when making buying decisions. Instead, I select things that I believe are genuinely desired by the soul.” On most other days, Yamada works as a retail buyer for various items in major Japanese department stores such as Parco and Seibu, serves as a director for Design Tide Tokyo, and is a representative for Nooka Japan.

All the items at (SHOP) are far from a necessity for everyday life, as they are the type of things that somebody would only buy unless they really loved it. What Yamada is aiming at with (SHOP) is the “pure” act of buying: purchasing something because you truly desire it. On the other hand, it’s also interesting to see how your perspective of the items he’s picked changes if you imagine that you could buy any and all of them.

Check out some of the rare and wonderful objects after the jump:

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