{"id":1061777,"date":"2026-07-01T12:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T12:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1061777\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T12:21:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T12:21:21","slug":"hideki-yoshimoto-and-maria-cristina-didero-on-craft-x-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1061777\/","title":{"rendered":"hideki yoshimoto and maria cristina didero on craft x tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

new design and historic craft<\/p>\n

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In Japan<\/strong><\/a>, Craft x Tech connects contemporary designers and artists from around the world to collaborate with local artisans. Merging historic craft<\/strong><\/a> with experiments in aesthetics and form, the group has invited acclaimed creatives such as Bethan Laura Wood, Sabine Marcelis, and Eugene Kangawa to reimagine what\u2019s possible using techniques that have shaped the country\u2019s history. In conversation with designboom, Craft x Tech\u2019s founder and creative director, Hideki Yoshimoto, and curatorial director, Maria Cristina Didero, speak about their journey bringing international designers to Japan.<\/p>\n

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Lanzavecchia + Wai at Mino Washi during Craft x Tech Tokai Project Site Visit 2025 | photo by by Noritoshi Kuroki<\/p>\n

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group photo of Craft x Tech Tokai Project exhibition at Kudan House | photo by Noritoshi Kuroki<\/p>\n

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Yoshimoto, who studied and worked in London for many years before returning to Tokyo, recounts the inception of Craft x Tech<\/strong><\/a>: \u2018I came to the field of design from the engineering side of the world: it\u2019s always been a fusion of engineering or technology with design\u2026 I was not particularly interested in traditional Japanese craft.\u2019 Yoshimoto then went on to describe a chance encounter he had during his last year living abroad in London: it was an invitation to meet a traditional lacquerware (urushi) craftsman in Akita the next time he found himself in Japan. \u2018I went and it was my first time stepping into the workshop of those craftspeople. That was insane for me!\u2019<\/p>\n

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miso soup bowl as sculpture<\/p>\n

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He referenced growing up with miso soup bowls, which are traditionally created by applying many fine layers of lacquer over hand-carved wood, pointing out how he took for granted all the technical details that went into the creation of this everyday object. \u2018I had never imagined someone creating that dish or bowl as if it was a sculpture. We always think about the sculptor as someone who is making the piece of art. But when it comes to a soup bowl, we don\u2019t imagine someone sculpting that soup bowl.\u2019 Yoshimoto went on to describe the sense of reverence he gained by seeing the precision, mastery, and process play out in front of him.<\/p>\n

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In its first year, the organization brought designers to the Tohoku (northeast) region of Japan. \u2018Especially with the first edition, artisans were quite skeptical,\u2019 remarks Yoshimoto of first encountering artisans, who were typically deeply ingrained in their local contexts and expressed skepticism about the contemporary approach he proposed. \u2018We had fun! Meeting, drinking together, hanging out. Then [the artisans] understood that this is real and that they were participating in something that could create something new. Gradually, we formed a sense of trust between ourselves, the designers, and the artisans.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Kawatsura Shikki and Sabine Marcelis during Craft x Tech Tohoku Project Site Visit 2023 | photo by Jun Sugawara<\/p>\n

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the universal language of design<\/p>\n

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In the first edition, Sabine Marcelis, Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves (Studio SWINE), Ini Archibong, Yoichi Ochiai, Hideki Yoshimoto, and Michael Young came together to participate in Craft x Tech collaborations, creating a space of rich cultural diversity. Between English, Japanese, and other native tongues, a language barrier naturally arose. Didero notes that it was \u2018a great human experience\u2019 to see how the common language of design was able to reconcile this. \u2018It was really the passion for their job and the technique that the artisan was trying to pass to the designer. Then the designer was trying to understand from the artisan. They created a kind of story without words. It was building memories by way of the product, building a great human experience.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Bethan Laura Wood at Arimatsu Narumi Shibori during Craft x Tech Tokai Project Site Visit 2025 | photo by by Noritoshi Kuroki<\/p>\n

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Bethan Laura Wood at Arimatsu Narumi Shibori during Craft x Tech Tokai Project Site Visit 2025 | photo by by Noritoshi Kuroki<\/p>\n

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design is about people and not about chairs<\/p>\n

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When asked how she became involved with the project, Didero shared one of her mantras: \u2018design is about people and not about chairs.\u2019 She elaborated by saying, \u2018My approach tries to understand what is before the object and why the object is finalized in a certain way. It\u2019s more about the people and the process and the context: how it was born and originated.\u2019<\/p>\n

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The Milan-based writer and curator went on to express how excited she was to join the project, not only because of her love for Japan (she\u2019s visited over a dozen times), but also because of how it builds upon her foundational interest in the values of Italy\u2019s Radical Design movement. \u2018While they were producing objects, they were speaking about the historical and political context from which it originated and was created. I think that is also very important now for contemporary design. Design reflects a person, but it also gives an idea of what is going on in that precise moment.\u2019<\/p>\n

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