Latest news with #ICFF
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Star Power and Purpose: Pure Cinema USA at ICFF
ORLANDO, Fla., May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The curtains may have closed on the International Christian Film & Music Festival (ICFF), but the buzz around Pure Cinema USA is just beginning. From industry leaders to first-time filmmakers, attendees continue to reach out to the nonprofit after its dynamic and high-visibility presence at ICFF, held at the DoubleTree by Hilton at SeaWorld in Orlando. Known as the world's largest gathering for faith-based entertainment, the festival drew thousands. Pure Cinema USA emerged as a standout force in the movement to tell redemptive, values-driven stories. "Our team was completely blown away by the energy, talent, and sheer hunger for faith-driven stories," said President of Pure Cinema USA, Natasha Davies. "We came to ICFF to connect, inspire, and share our mission—and the response has been overwhelming." Festival attendees flocked to the Pure Cinema USA exhibit booth, where leaders showcased upcoming initiatives and previewed the launch of The Pure Story Challenge: Faith on Film, a national short film competition awarding $10,000 to the best faith-based short. The contest drew immediate attention from young filmmakers, community leaders, and media outlets alike. Notable guests at the event included Dean Cain, television star and outspoken advocate for faith and family in media. Cain was among many who stopped to connect with Pure Cinema USA during the four-day event. "This wasn't just a festival—it was a movement," added Yolanda Nollie, Vice President of Pure Cinema USA, who enjoyed herself at the event and remarked. "We're seeing a hunger for stories that uplift and unite. That's what Pure Cinema is here to deliver." With more than 166 media pickups and top-tier press visibility through a strategic partnership with Hampton Bates Public Relations, Pure Cinema USA continues to gain national attention. For partnership opportunities with Pure Cinema USA or media inquiries, visit or email info@ Public support is welcome and needed. Contributions to help fund the $10,000 prize and national outreach may be made through the official GoFundMe Campaign page at: Pure Cinema USA. Pure Cinema USA is a tax-deductible 501(c)(3) organization Thank You! Contact: Sylvia R. HamptonHampton Bates Public RelationsMedia Sponsor for Pure Cinema USAEmail: 395662@ Phone: 617-413-6764 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Pure Cinema USA
Business Mayor
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
A Spiky Jewelry "Box"—and More Unhinged Objects From North America's Largest Furniture Fair
Once again, it's time for ICFF, North America's largest furniture fair—a three-day extravaganza that packs a lot of chairs, rugs, lamps, and delight into the most undelightful location, the Javits Center near Manhattan's blustery West Side Highway. As is standard, one of the more exciting aspects of the event is Launchpad, a centerpiece for new and emerging talent from design schools around the country. I can say with certainty that I am rarely, if ever, disappointed here. Join me on my journey. Appartement2 French brand Appartement2 showed a modular storage system that comes in a variety of colors. Caroline Grondin and Guillaume Avraguez of Réunion Island, France, brought their stocky and charming Totemique collection and the purple iteration caught my eye immediately. Conceptualized as a modular storage system, the lacquered cubes can be stacked or arranged however you see fit. The chunky wooden legs and round stone handles are also customizable. When viewed up close, the pieces had a commanding presence, but in a fun way. A tower of storage opportunities! In a sea of chairs, Super Studio's elegant and simple (and shiny!) seat was a nice visual reprieve. Sebastian Martinez's lounge chair, Convergence, is simple in its construction, with a cherry wood seat and polished aluminum frame. Admittedly, it was the shiny bit that caught my eye first, but upon closer inspection, I was in thrall of its simplicity and its attention to detail—a mirrored bit of aluminum on the chair's underside reflects the wooden frame, creating an infinity-mirror effect that gives the furniture some visual heft. Portals Collection by Studio Bucky The mirror from Studio Bucky's Portals collection looks like a door and comes with a chunky, bespoke handle. And yes, there is a key for that lock. Alex Buckeridge of Studio Bucky, an architect and interior designer by trade, is making his foray into furniture with the Portals collection. What caught my attention about the mirror here was the illusion created by the thickness of the frame—when I viewed it from the side, it looked like just an empty doorframe, but as you approach, the mirror is a pleasant surprise. The piece is inspired by the portal tombs of Ireland—megalithic rock structures dotted around the countryside. Read More Apple Is Forced to Decontent Its Newest Smartwatches From afar, the door from the Portals collection seems to lead the viewer into another world—in this case, it's just the Javits Center from a different angle. Two lamps, made of aluminum, from Duskshaped. Cara Salvatore, the artist behind these two quiet but stunning lamps, told me that the pieces on display were some of what was left standing after a fire in her shared studio space. Each table lamp is made from aluminum and there's a fun, tactile quality to both. The tall lamp on the left is actually two pieces; you can move the front panel or remove it completely and turn it into a sconce. On the right, the cutest little table lamp I ever did see comes with a shade made of scrunched metal mesh. Ridezign These stackable table lamps from RIzdesign are 3D printed, which took me by surprise! Ridezign's Tesser lamps are modular, stackable, and, to my surprise, 3D printed. Their form is inspired by the glowing windows in New York City buildings and the little glimpses of life you get from walking down the street, peering in. Wang Yichu Wang Yichu's sense of humor is clear! Yes, that's a cat, and yes, it has a cane for a tail. I found myself enamored with Wang Yichu's work in 2023, and so it's no surprise that I found my way back to his work this year. Personally, if art doesn't have a sense of humor, then it is largely useless. Wang's work, seen here, scratches my itch for the faintly ridiculous. The big spiky boy on the left, 'Urchin,' is a jewelry box. Three of the many spikes pull out from the center to reveal a small spot to hide treasure—jewelry, a dollar bill, a joint or three. And the charming little fellow you see on the right is basically what it looks like—a cat carved out of poplar, with a cane from Amazon as its tail. If I could've walked out of the Javits Center with this cat by my side, I would have. My love for both objects knows no bounds! Pulling the spikes to reveal a rolled-up dollar bill did not get old and hefting the cat by its handle and parading it around for a minute or two was a treat. The cat is heavy enough to be a weapon, should you need it, or in repose, a nice place to hang your bag. Part of the fun of 'Urchin' is guessing which spike contains a secret spot for hidden treasure. Made of hand-polished stainless steel, Studio Nawa's chair is practically begging to be touched. There was no shortage of shiny things to look at but Studio Nawa's Surface was as if a puddle of liquid mercury gained sentience and formed itself into a cute little chair. Though it often feels incorrect to touch the art, I did, at the behest of designer Alina Nasmeeva, who was not nearly as distressed as I was about the handprint my sweaty palm left on its surface. Novisto A beautiful and stylish way to display flowers, courtesy of Novisto. Like a magpie, I flocked to Novisto's gorgeous sconce/scent diffuser, Fiore—a clever take on decorative lighting and a gorgeous way to display flowers. The larger unit has a light, a vase, and a fan to diffuse the scent of the florals, and the reflective surface of the stainless steel cone is mesmerizing. If left to my own devices, I would've stared at this floral arrangement all day. The stainless steel cone reflects and distorts the flowers it contains. Is it a cat tree? A plant stand? Trick question: it could be both! Is concrete sexy? After viewing Concrete Poetics' work, I think it certainly is. The hand-cast cement objects from the Ridgewood, Queens studio Concrete Poetics can be almost anything you want them to be—planters, stools, a base for a table, or just an imposing yet friendly plinth, plopped in your foyer, near the front door, for your mail or your keys. Their undulating shapes are created by individually casting each layer and then placing them on top of each other. Indo The beaded brass strings that dangle in front of this mirror from Indo are just as fun to touch as they are to look at. Indo's mirror and pendant lamps are inspired in part by the intricate brickwork seen in Indian palaces and also by veils. The strings of small brass beads that dangle in front of the mirror create a sheer effect that is mesmerizing up close and invites interaction, while also diffusing the reflection of the viewer. The pendant lamps are just as striking as the mirror. Here's a credenza shaped like a cloud and a clock made from, yes, stainless steel. I'm a sucker for good tile and Another World uses it well on the face of its maple-veneer credenza, Elsewhere. The goldfish depicted on the front are hand-painted, and the piece is a nice bit of whimsy and a moment of quiet in a show where so many other pieces are clamoring for attention. (Another World is also a part of Colony's 2025 Designer Residency program—a mark of excellence.) Juntos Project The wood here is hand colored, using very thin layers of dye to achieve a look that's saturated and almost glowing. There's a lot of wood and a lot of chairs at ICFF, but Juntos Project's quiet seat, pictured here in a stunning burgundy, was a standout. A chair should be, above all, comfortable. This iteration in leather and burgundy-tinted wood is big enough to have a strong presence, but its construction is spare—just a few slats of maple and some leather achieve something elegant that's also a nice place to sit. Contemplating which corner of my very narrow apartment could contain this chair. If you buried these chairs in your backyard and forgot about them for a few years, that's totally fine, because the'll just turn into soil. (The oranges were up for grabs, too.) Heller's latest innovation in plastics comes in the form of these chairs—and all of its products, save for a few—that are now made with 'worry-free plastic.' This sounds like a clever marketing term, created to assuage the fears of consumers concerned about the environmental damage that plastics can wreak, but the furniture brand is putting its money where its mouth is. All of Heller's pieces are now embedded with an enzyme that activates in deoxygenated environments and breaks down the plastic over time, turning it into nutrient rich soil. Virginia Sin Just a lovely lamp, courtesy of Virginia Sin. This squat little table lamp, the Gio, comes in a variety of different finishes and shades and is inspired by ancient monolithic objects. The parchment paper shade creates a lovely muted glow, and though the lamp itself is quiet, I could imagine that on the right shelf or a nice side table, it would pack an impressive visual punch. READ SOURCE businessmayor May 20, 2025
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NYCxDesign 2025 — The Essential Edit of Events to Catch in New York Next Week, Selected from Hundreds of Happenings
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. One of the world's leading capitals of culture year-round, New York transforms into an even more exciting destination come NYCxDesign, its annual festival dedicated to platforming the talents, institutions, and brands that are driving innovation in all things design forward. Launching right after the equally anticipated, global art fairs Frieze (to May 11) and TEFAF New York (to May 13), the event, whose forthcoming edition runs from May 15-21, seeks to make this field both open to and inspiring for everyone through hundreds of events between exhibitions, collection releases, trade shows, talks, and walking tours. Attracting over 200,000 visitors from across the globe every year, NYCxDesign coincides with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Hosted at the Javits Center and in turn reuniting over 450 design houses, including established and emerging brands, from more than 35 countries, the initiative wants to promote the best-in-class in original and sustainable design. This is to say that, whether exploring the Big Apple on foot, peeking inside its pioneering galleries to interact with the works of local trailblazers, or choosing to gather fresh inspiration from the latest iteration of ICFF, creativity will be everywhere next week. Haven't made a plan for NYCxDesign 2025 yet? Don't worry, we've done it for you. From the best New York design hotels to stay at in town to the top 11 events to catch during the festival, and a digital map to get around more easily, the Livingetc NYCxDesign 2025 Guide has got you covered (yes, we've reported on the creative community's favorite hangouts around New York City, too). Tiwa Select, 86 Walker St floor 5, New York, NY 10013, United States. The Future Perfect, by appointment only. For all queries, contact the team From her recent collaboration with Poltrona Frau, dubbed by Livingetc as one of the best London Design Festival projects earlier last year, to her fantastical, plastered-in-artworks Camden Town studio and showroom, House of Toogood, everything Faye Toogood touches appears imbued with an agency of its own. Instinctively, the designer's work reminds me of the small, often animal or fantasy creatures-inspired papier-mâché sculptures I used to make and play with as a child. Though, of course, I don't mean to make the two in any way comparable, there is something about her craft that can't be ascribed to the actual world, as Lucid Dream, her latest collection of hand-painted furniture and lighting creations, attests. On view across Tiwa Select gallery and The Future Perfect's New York location, the show clearly comes from the heart — or perhaps from somewhere even deeper. "I needed to momentarily stop all the plates spinning around me, and focus on the swirl within," she said of the moment that led to the series featured in the exhibition. "Going inside the studio, inside my body, inside my imagination. Taking a line for a walk to reclaim and reconfigure what is my language when all is quiet." Comprising textural paper lanterns, standing lamps, and sconces bearing surreal, handmade motifs, alongside colorful, doodles-covered table sets, coffee tables, floating sculptures, armchair and foot stool sets, and room dividers characterized by Toodgood's signature blown-up volumes, Lucid Dream is where fantasy comes to life to everyone's enjoyment. To June 21. Plan your visit Artemest Galleria, 518 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011, United States Ippolita Rostagno's Artemest, whose home-inspired L'Appartamento exhibition format — presenting a domestic environment crafted on the occasion of Milan Design Week by a different roster of world-acclaimed designers each time — has become a staple of our Salone del Mobile guides, has just completed the refurbishment of its West Chelsea outpost. Formerly designed by Samuele Brianza, the newly revamped space, which comes courtesy of American interior designer Nicole Fuller, will be unveiled next week to coincide with this year's NYCxDesign. And if we know Artemest as well as we think, great things are on the way. Plan your visit. Javitz Center, 429 11th Ave, New York, NY 10001, United States Housed at ICFF's Booth #W851, part of the fair's WANTED presentation, Daniel Shapiro's Winkle Ceramic Design debut collection, Squared, is a testament to the enduring value of craftsmanship. The founder, whose great-grandfather ran the Winkle Terracotta Company in St. Louis in the late 1800s, looks back to look forward with his very own artisanal venture, where storied tradition meets the power of the latest technologies. Opting for cubic shapes over cylindrical ones, Shapiro challenges the norms of sculpture through tetris-like lamps and collectible installations that put a human spin on 3D modeling and printing. From a two-step, tech-assisted initial phase, his designs are then transferred to handmade plaster molds, which he then completes with textural marbling and limewash techniques. What comes out of it are pieces that defy time to embrace the magic of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. May 18-20. Plan your visit. Love House, 179 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002, USA Jared Heinrich and Aric Yeakey's celebrated design showroom, Love House, is inaugurating a brand new, 4,000-square-foot space with the launch of their first-ever group exhibition, The Family Show. Inviting each of the 60 participating artists and designers to interpret the theme freely, the co-founders have made room for a highly personal, evocative, and tender expression of creativity to unfold. With contributions varying from otherworldly, softly glowing lighting explorations to jewels-encrusted bas-reliefs, futuristic seating, and comforting objects rooted in notions of sharing, quotidianity, and ritualism, the exhibition debunks the understanding of the home and long-term connections as static, monotonous. Instead, through the craft of boundary-pushing talents like Forma Rosa Studio, Paolo Ferrari, Lana Launay, Jan Ernst, and Alberto Essesi, the everyday becomes extraordinary. To May 31. Get in touch with the gallery for more information. Javitz Center, 429 11th Ave, New York, NY 10001, United States What better way to glance at the future of design than through the eyes of its budding practitioners? During New York Design Week 2025, the ICFF brings back the Schools Showcase, a globe-trotting deep dive into the world's most renowned schools of design and the students who bring them to life. The format, which was established in 2022, gathers the most promising talents from each institute to introduce their work to the wider design industry, serving as a bridge between them, studios, brands, and other creative institutions. This year's participating schools include the California College of the Arts, Centro de Estudios Superiores de Diseno de Monterrey / CEDIMIED, Istituto Europeo di Design S.B.p.A., Istituto Marangoni, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Savannah School of Art and Design (SCAD), and School of Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), among others. The event will coincide with the Best of Schools and Students Prize award ceremonies, presented with the support of Haworth. May 18-20. Plan your visit. UrbanGlass, 647 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11217, United States An oasis for aspiring and established glassware makers, since 1977 UrbanGlass has been providing a space for people to engage with and try their hand at glass-based art and design. For NYCxDesign 2025, the Agnes Varis Art Center hosts Light/Lite, an intergenerational showcase of artists turning to the medium to advance innovation in lighting design. Among the talents spotlighted are Eidos Glass' Lorin Silverman, whose choreographic, hand-blown glass sculptures are adored by the world's foremost architects, designers, and fellow creatives, 3D-printing trailblazers Evenline, revitalizing tradition through a tech-engineered approach to craftsmanship, and Jamie Harris, whose translucent, ethereal creations immortalize the movement of hot glass into abstract, deeply fascinating compositions. May 10-June 6. Plan your visit. IRL Gallery, 86 Walker St #2, New York, NY 10013, United States When researching shows to include in this roundup of the best NYCxDesign events, I was instantly hooked by the announcement of Emily Thurman's Hundō solo. Scheduled to open at IRL Gallery next week, her debut collection of furniture, lighting, and sculptural pieces blends archaic and contemporary canons into an evocative manifestation of artistry. The works, which will be interspersed with contributions from StudioDanielK, Camille Tan's Atelier Falaise, and Alexis Mazin, rare collectibles sourced by Past Lives' Carly Krieger, and a textile installation by Peter Christensen, are "a meditation on transformation". In molding bronze, cast glass, porcelain, solid oak and cherry, marble, and onyx through pouring, sculpting, and burning, Thurman allows the raw material to express itself in its most elemental state. Standing out for their creaturesque, largely rounded shapes, the series feels like a dialogue between the designer herself and the mediums through which she creates. May 15-21. Plan your visit. Javitz Center, 429 11th Ave, New York, NY 10001, United States Booth #W1356 at ICFF, part of the fair's WANTED section, will serve as the stage for the latest collection by Wendy Schwartz and Kristi Bender's Cuff Studio. Titled WITHIN, the release, launching with a press preview on May 18 (8-10am), sees the Los Angeles duo look "inward more than ever before," the two explained. Retaining the vibrancy, shapely essence, and wit Cuff Studio is known for, the drop is their boldest yet, with standouts ranging from a wavy, velveting green chaise lounge and a cherry-plum, sculptural revisitation of their signature Block Daybed to a cinematic, cascade-inspired chandelier in glass and rope, and a whimsy coffee table. May 18-20. Plan your visit. Colbo, 51 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002, United States It was the stark contrast between softness and roughness, poetry and brutality, I felt while looking at interior designers Yuria Kailich and Joel Harding's joint studio practice, Item: Enso, that drew me toward it. Carved from unpolished metal sheets or textural cuts of pastel-shaded fabric, their creations transform seemingly simple, and sometimes unaesthetic, materials into dramatic furniture and lighting pieces as well as objects you can't help but wonder about their back story. For NYCxDesign 2025, they bring Soft Grounds, their inaugural installation, to the multi-purpose spaces of Colbo. At once fragile and sturdy, the designs on view — "brutalist interpretations of tender ideas" — remind me of nature's resilience; its ability to resist the signs of time, renovate, and transform. Accompanied by Itameshi-style specialties by Alimentari Flaneur and hand-poured drinks by Sake Bar Asoko, Soft Grounds is where the party begins. May 15-21, launch May 17, from 1pm-close. Plan your visit. 145 E 57th St, New York, NY 10022, United States To mark the return of New York Design Week, heritage Danish house Carl Hansen & Søn will be debuting a new collection within the spectacular spaces of its NYC flagship location. Founded by its namesake in Odense, Funen, in 1908, the brand, known for its essentially sophisticated, handcrafted furniture, remains family-owned and is now in its third generation. During NYCxDesign 2025, Carl Hansen & Søn's latest outspring will dialogue with masterpieces from iconic Danish designers Hans J. Wegner and Kaare Klint, including the latter's Spherical Bed, and fresh contributions by Børge Mogensen, EOOS, and Anker Bak. May 14, 9-11 am. Plan your visit. The Vinyl Room at Soho House Meatpacking, 29-35 9th Ave, New York, NY 10014, United States As part of NYCxDesign 2025 program, Nicholas Berglund, Chief Creative Officer at Life Time, a lifestyle brand built around the creation of thoughtfully designed community spaces conceived to bring health, fitness, and wellness to the forefront, will be giving a talk to address ever-apparent connection between design and physical as well as mental well-being. The concept, which operates across stunningly envisioned, resort-like athletic country clubs, coworking spaces, and residences all around the US, as well as offering guided workout and yoga classes via its namesake app, and IRL events, strives to show how design can help us live our "happiest, healthiest life" — as we recently explored in a piece about Madelynn Ringo's wellness design. May 20, 7pm. Secure your spot. When — Also known as New York Design Week, NYCxDesign 2025's official program runs May 15-21 across hundreds of locations across town, though individual projects might inaugurate in the days ahead of its official launch. The event, which recurs annually, is dense with collection launches, design exhibitions, panel discussions, keynotes, parties, and public art activations, including the unveiling of Union Square Partnership's Annual 14th Street Mural Installation. Where — NYCxDesign 2025 initiatives will take over the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, with curated events coming to Brooklyn Heights, Bushwick, Chelsea, Dumbo, Greenwich Village, Harlem, Hudson Yards, Long Island City, Lower East Side, Red Hook, SoHo, Upper Madison Avenue, and Williamsburg throughout the course of New York Design Week (and often beyond). Our guide to NYCxDesign 2025 will hopefully allow you to get the most out of this week-long celebration of craftsmanship, creativity, and innovation. But knowing where to find the most exciting presentations doesn't take away the need to research where to hang out afterwards. Hit our New York page to take your pick from dozens of restaurants, bars, and stays sure to make your Big Apple sojourn even more unforgettable. And keep an eye on our lifestyle section for more! Not in the Big Apple for NYCxDesign but still feel like you want to join in the frenzy? Check out our just-updated curation of the best design exhibitions in London, featuring intergenerational artistic dialogues, immersive installations, experimental furniture displays, and more.
Business Mayor
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
Meet the Emerging Designers From 2025 ICFF's Launch Pad at WANTED
When the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) returns to New York City's Javits Center on May 18-20, 2025, its thematic focus, 'Designing in Harmony,' will emphasize craftsmanship, sustainability, and multicultural design. About 20,000 square feet of the ICFF show floor is dedicated to WANTED, a feature of the fair that includes the international Launch Pad platform for emerging designers introducing new concepts and showcasing prototypes of furniture, home accessories, and lighting. We're excited to help present this year's design talent as the media partner for Launch Pad at WANTED. Take a peek at the 2025 Launch Pad designers below. The cherry-and-maple ButtonBack chair was designed and built as a collaboration between Aileen De La Ree Valencia and Nush Wadia. APPRT2 is a product design studio based in Réunion Island, France. DUSKSHAPED produces contemporary sculptural objects in metal. FlatFlat is an aluminum furniture collection designed to fit into standard shipping boxes. All pieces are laser-cut in the United States and fabricated in New York. Hannah Via is a multimedia artist based in Queens, New York. The tufted sconce reimagines traditional lighting, adding softness, texture, and color to a typically rigid, utilitarian object. JLF Design Studio is a creative collaboration between husband-and-wife team Minsu Jang and Soojin Lee. Konstantinos and Maria Chadoulos founded Mockinbird Studio, a workshop specializing in custom wood creations, in Larissa, Greece. Palm Paramee Panchaphalasom is a designer from Bangkok, Thailand, now based in Providence, Rhode Island. She is a senior studying BFA Furniture Design at the Rhode Island School of Design. Indian industrial designers Ridima Jain and Manav Singla bring a shared vision to Ridezign—to make the ephemeral feel eternal. The sculptural Tesser lighting collection is inspired by fleeting glimpses of illuminated lives through New York City's skyscrapers. Sam LaRocco is a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati's DAAP Industrial Design program. The Puff-Ply collection mixes nontraditional building materials with common industrial practices. Studio NAWA is a new creative partnership between Alina Nazmeeva and John Wagner, based in Chicago. STUDIO BINDRI, founded by Indonesian-born Balqis Indriyani, is an industrial design practice rooted in the fusion of artisanal craftsmanship and cutting-edge digital methodologies. Studio Bucky's Portal mirror is inspired by Ireland's ancient portal tombs. Interdisciplinary designer Xubai Li's Knot Knot lighting collection is based on multiple traditional Chinese knotting techniques. Yonathan Moore is a Brooklyn-based architect and designer driven by material experimentation and specializing in handmade collectible lighting and furniture. The Flux room divider is the debut piece from the Flux collection. READ SOURCE
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
This $120K Tiny Home Is a Tea House on Wheels
Tiny House Japan's units are designed like saunas—with plenty of cedar to withstand heat and steam. Welcome to Tiny Home Profiles, an interview series with people pushing the limits of living small. From space-saving hacks to flexible floor plans, here's what they say makes for the best tiny homes on the planet. Know of a builder we should talk to? Reach out. Haruhiko Tagami had been living in his 1960s Eriba Puck when he came across a unique problem: however timeless the travel tailer was, it was not equipped for putting the kettle on. "During winter months, boiling water would result in wall-to-wall condensation, and without absorbent tape, even the sleeping bag would get wet," Tagami recalls. "Mold gradually grew and the ceiling turned black, and the room began to smell like mold." Coming from a family that had owned a sawmill, and having once apprenticed as a carpenter, obtaining a second-class architect license (a credential needed in Japan to design smaller buildings), Tagami was well qualified to build a trailer that better suited his needs. "I thought I might be able to build a comfortable wooden one," he tells us. "So I bought a used bike trailer and built a Usonia-style home out of Japanese cedar." That was in 2014. Since, his company, Tiny House Japan, has made several designs that follow Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonia principles—from a deployable emergency shelter, to an itinerant tea house, to a stationary home made up of two linked modules—that each aims to make the most of a five-and-a-half meter trailer bed. Here, Tagami shares the philosophy behind his work, a few of his past projects, and his latest build that's ready for tea-making: the Triangular Roof House. How did you decide to live in and build tiny homes? My partner and I have sensitivities to sound and pesticides and have lived in and out of various places. Because of these experiences, it was reasonable for us to have a house that we could move around in, rather than live in one place. From a production standpoint, it was also rational that we could build homes for distant clients in our factory. See the full story on This $120K Tiny Home Is a Tea House on WheelsRelated stories: Meet the Emerging Designers From 2025 ICFF's Launch Pad at WANTED These Midcentury Reissues Are Crafted to Be True Collector's Items Two Dwell Staffers Debate the Best of Salone del Mobile
