A longtime resident of Tokyo, Jean Snow lives and breathes design, pop culture, and gaming, sustained by an unhealthy addiction to magazines and frequent visits to his favorites cafes. He has reported on these obsessions for various online and offline publications.
For Jean Snow's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Build up a good desk space It's great when something gives you an excuse to have fun at your desk, and the Play-Deco Construction series from Twelvetone does just that. The collection of five different-sized wooden trays and containers are decorated to look like buildings ...
Here's a glass that's perfect for teasing someone who's prone to having one too many. The Kanna Glass by Hiroshi Yamazaki (of Yamasaki Design Works) is a beautifully designed piece of glassware, with an unusually irregular bottom. The uneven surface means that it will never ...
Fishing for a good cuppa Here's a cute and handy bit of originality for your tea breaks. The Tea Bag Holder Shirokuma (Polar Bear) from Necktie Design Office not only keeps your drink warm as it brews but it also stops the tea bag string ...
Seeing paper in a new light Sometimes there are products by different companies that fall in the same category, and they are all such fine examples that it's impossible to choose which to focus on. This month we are awash in washi (Japanese paper) lamps. First ...
It's time to revisit one of On: Design's favorite designers — Kouichi Okamoto, who designs under the name Kyouei. Recently, Okamoto has been working more on one-off items, but this month he launches a brand new product that sounds really good — literally. The Square Wind ...
Be prepared with Nosigner The latest project from Eisuke Tachikawa — founder of design firm Nosigner and a frequent presence in this column — builds on the humanitarian work he has been involved in since the Great East Japan Earthquake. Barely a day passed after ...
This month’s Kikof This month, we’re focusing on perfecting the kitchen and dining room, kicking off with the aptly named Kikof, a covetable set of dishes and tableware.
Nendo's latest work to catch the attention of this column is its Fusion collection — an entirely new series of furniture and houseware comprising 13 pieces for Danish furniture maker BoConcept. As the name suggests, Fusion fuses different design elements together to allow pieces to ...
Keeping flower books It takes a special kind of vase to make this column and Fumiaki Goto's Hanabunko for 5×8 Products hits the mark with originality. Designed to slot among the novels on a bookshelf, the Hanabunko is a simple, rectangular container with an open ...
Crisp and dry lettuce As the name suggests, Vegetabrella is an amusing umbrella by H Concept that, when shut, looks rather convincingly like a head of green leaf lettuce. Stacked together, they could easily be mistaken for a display at a grocery store. Made of a ...
