Exhibition — An Ensemble of Front and Back -企画展- 表と裏のアンサンブル
Under a clear autumn sky without a single cloud, our second special exhibition has opened today.
Inside the shop, nearly one hundred pieces are on display, centered around basket bags,
along with organizing baskets in various sizes, hanging baskets, brooches, and dried flowers.
Today, Friday the 16th, and tomorrow, Saturday the 17th, the maker, Toshio Sasaki, has come from Iwate and will be present in the shop for two days.
Visitors will be able to watch basket making demonstrations and speak with him directly. He is a warm and approachable person, and we expect there will be many enjoyable conversations.
Some of the customers who arrived early have personal ties to Iwate, and there were already moments where lively conversations about the region seemed to blossom between them and Mr. Sasaki.
If your schedule allows, we warmly invite you to stop by and visit.
In addition to the basket bags, organizing baskets in a range of sizes are also on display.
For example, this “Organizing Basket, Medium Size.” It is a standard item that we regularly introduce in our shop, and it is also included in the lineup for this exhibition.
You will also find baskets in sizes and designs that are unique to this exhibition.
We are also introducing a selection of charming hanging baskets.
These can be used as flower holders or as pockets for postcards.
The postcard holders feature openwork in the weave,
allowing the contents inside to be faintly visible, which adds to their appeal.
The hanging cords are intentionally finished in fabric.
“As for this slightly relaxed feel, I think that’s part of what makes them nice,” Sasaki says.
We will also be offering dried flower pieces, including swags and wreaths.
These, too, were sourced by Sasaki directly from local farmers and carefully dried and arranged by hand.
The texture and character of sawagurumi seem to pair beautifully with the softness of dried flowers.
The shop is filled with the pleasant, gently roasted scent of sawagurumi, which feels fresh and different from usual.
Sasaki mentioned that it “smells just like the workshop,” and that comment felt especially fitting.
He also remarked that “there has never been a time when so many pieces have come together like this,”
highlighting just how full and rich this lineup is.
The exhibition runs through Wednesday, September 21. We look forward to welcoming you.
_ _ _ _ _ // Information // _ _ _ _ _
• Visits on Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17, when Toshio Sasaki was present at the shop,
were by reservation only. Please note that reservations for these dates have now closed.
• From Sunday, September 18 through Wednesday, September 21,
visitors were welcome to enter freely without a reservation.
• During the exhibition period, the display focused primarily on the lineup of “Iwate Sawagurumi Baskets.”
Other regular items were removed from the shop floor, and only a very limited selection was shown.
If there were other items you wished to see during your visit, please feel free to speak with our staff.
We brought items out from storage upon request. Specifying the product name or details helped us assist more smoothly.
• For this exhibition, all purchased items could be taken home on the day of purchase.
Only items displayed in the shop were available for sale, and most of them were one of a kind.
If there was a piece you were interested in, we recommended visiting as early as possible.
Please note that made-to-order requests were not accepted for this exhibition.
- Exhibition Title: Iwate Sawagurumi Baskets —A World Woven by Front and Back—
- Dates: September 16 (Fri) – September 21 (Wed), 2022 *Open every day during the exhibition period
- Hours: September 16 and 17: 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM
All other days: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM