“I don’t design for the market, I design for daily life.”

— From a series of insight gathered during conversations with crafts related people around Japan.

“In my practice, I have to say that I don’t really think about how much it will sell, or where are the trends are pointing at lately. Because I don’t design products for the market — I leave that to corporations and large industries — my work is about crafting objects for every day life. And maybe you would have noticed as well, no matter how digital we have already become, we keep on using plates, bowls, glasses, dishes. Daily life doesn’t change that quickly, and so I am not that in a hurry either to change or create new styles or new series. Instead, I am interested at the beauty I succeed to embed in each object I craft, this is my main task even. Because as our daily life slowly turns into routine, these bowls, plate, dishes, glasses become part of the routine as well. And once they are, we tend not to look at them anymore. Without any sparkle of beauty, daily life may quickly become shallow, and I think it doesn’t have to be that way. Companies, designers will tend at creating beauty as well, mainly for their products to be sold. Sometimes they also care about the effect their products may bring within daily life, sometimes with innovative materials, creative technics, and it is very nice to see. Every types of beauty are welcome, and the more we will care for beauty in our daily use, the nicer everyday life will be.”

Matsumoto