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Led by designers Ville Kokkonen and Harri Koskinen, Iwatemo has won the Good Design Award, the most significant design award in Asia. Founded in 1957, the award is the oldest and most prestigious in Asia.

All Iwatemo products are produced in Iwate, Japan, in collaboration with the Finnish designers and local artisans, using traditional techniques and materials typical of the area. Iwatemo was established in 2016, when Finnish designers

Kokkonen and Koskinen were invited to visit the Iwate prefecture, in order to get acquainted with the area’s traditional production methods.

Iwate is located in northeastern Japan, where winters are cold and harsh. Traditionally, the local people have had time to refine their production methods during the cold winter months when agriculture has had to come to a halt. The methods have been passed down through many generations, and even today many techniques and materials used in the area date back centuries, for example in manufacturing of wooden furniture, ironware and handmade ceramics. The project offers a channel for the artisans to make their products known internationally.

Text: Ida Kukkapuro, Helsinki Design Week.

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