A stylish, innovative and artistic series of parasols inspired by the beauty of nature.
Thanks to everone who came out to Gallery Wa2 to hear the lecture by designer John DiCesare. It was great to have a chance to discuss the creative elements behind the designs. I even had a visit from a special customer. Shinohara Tomoe! She came in and picked up a Parashell Classico White parasol. It suited her really well. She has a very unique character so this item is perfect for her.
From August 30th to September 4th, an exhibition called “The Sculptor’s Umbrella” will be held at a lovely space in Omotessando called Gallery Wa2. I will be meeting customers and giving a short lecture for this show on August 30th from 6pm. Come on out and check out the show and listen to my lecture in my best Japanese!
The Kyoto Sakura parasol and The Kyoto Kabocha parasol are a special collaboration with Kuriyama Kobo. A traditional Kyoto fabric studio that created a special pattern for both the Sakura Parasol and the Kabocha Pumpkin Parasol. The fabric is a delicate linen dyed in a style combining “Bingata” and “Kyo Yūzen” techniques.
You just have to see them to understand how well this fabric compliments the Sakura Parasol and the Kabocha Pumpkin Parasol shapes. A jaw-dropping limited edition series that reminds me why I started designing umbrellas and parasols in the first place. Available till the end of this month at Matsuya Ginza.
Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi is where the masterpiece, “Statue of a Celestial Nymph” by Gengen Sato is located. While I was looking at the sculpture, a man on a deep pipe organ played “It’s a small world”. The music made viewing the sculpture almost meditative but also like a performance art piece. Come down to see our latest collection of umbrellas and parasols!
My good friend Matias Lasarte recently took a series of my umbrellas and parasols out for a photo shoot in Uruguay. I can’t express how happy I am with the results. The pictures bring out the beauty in the items far beyond what I expected. Thanks Matias. The pictures speak for themselves.I’ll be putting them on the gallery soon too!
Somei Yoshino is a variety of Japanese Sakura tree that has nearly pure white blossoms that are tinged in a soft pink.
This limited edition parasol was created in collaboration with the wonderful artist, AYA KATO. Aya Kato often works with fairytales and traditional motifs, turning them into bold, psychedelic, contemporary art pieces in a style sometimes recalling Manga and Art Nouveau.
The intention of this collaboration was to provide Aya Kato with a canvas for her motifs in the form of the iconic Sakura Parasol.
This project is special to me and the Somei Yoshino is one of the nicest parasols I’ve ever made.
Debuting today on Jwave radio today!
For our third collaboration with Cocca we made a series of Kabocha Pumpkin parasols and a Parashell parasols too! The fabric we used was created by a designer named 2e san. The items are really eccentric and stylish. Look for the items at one of the many department store events across Japan I will be at this season!
This is a good friend of mine, a model and a customer as well. Abe san recently picked up a Sakura Semplice parasol at the Matsuya show and went out with a photographer friend and took some great photos. Look for the shots in the gallery soon!
For this collaboration we worked with Est Nation and Rita Takahashi. I just love these Pumpkin Parasols. The pattern of the fabric and the little frill around the edge are perfect for this form. They are only available at Est Nation and they won’t last long. Look for them in the June issues of In Red and Oggi.
I’m happy to announce that for the second time we’ve teamed up with Cocca to make collaboration items. This season we’ve made a limited edition series of Rhythm Umbrellas and Kabocha Parasols. This series of Pumpkin umbrellas comes with UV coating and waterproofing. With dual coating these models are great for any season.
