The Advice: "If You Study Architecture, You Can Do Anything"

YanagimotoCould you tell us about how you, having originally studied architecture, came to enter the world of stationery? And perhaps, going back further, some episodes from your childhood?

UekiMy father was an architect, and I grew up surrounded by the tools of his trade. To me back then, my father's tools were like toys, and from a young age, I vaguely thought, "I want to be involved in some kind of manufacturing job someday." But for me, manufacturing meant architecture, and I knew nothing about any other genres. Before I knew it, I was in my third year of high school... I didn't have any particular grand aspirations then, and my father also encouraged me to pursue a certain path, so I half-heartedly decided on architecture... (laughs).

YanagimotoYour father had a strong influence on you in many ways, didn't he?

UekiOnce I entered university, the assignments were enjoyable, and I was reasonably fulfilled... but there was a clear difference in passion for "architecture" between my classmates, who were purely and greedily studying architecture, and me, who was just "kind of doing architecture." I was anxious about my future if things continued this way, and the feeling that "I want to do something other than architecture" was always in the back of my mind, which also became a complex for me. A major turning point during my university life came in my third year. Architect Naoki Terada was a part-time lecturer at our school, and we had an assignment to design furniture and lighting. It was incredibly fun, to the point where I thought, "I think I've just realized something!" (laughs). When I consulted with Terada-san about wanting to work in product design in the future, he told me, "If you study architecture, you can do anything." At the time, Terada-san and everyone around me seemed to say the same thing: "If you study architecture, you can do anything." "You can create big things and small things." Encouraged by those words, I decided to study a bit more, and in my fourth year, I began to consider graduate school.

YanagimotoSo, your uncertainty began to clear up a bit?

UekiWhen it came time to apply for graduate school, I consulted with professors in the labs of the universities I was applying to, and they looked at my previous work, especially concerning buildings and urban planning. Then, a conflict arose within me again (laughs). "Wait, if I don't have passion for architecture, won't this be a problem?" I felt a sense of unease talking about building structures with the professor (laughs). Eventually, I couldn't suppress the feeling of "I really want to do lighting and furniture!" and seized the moment to confess to the professor. "My previous work doesn't reflect my true feelings!" As a result, the professor understood, and when I took the graduate school entrance exams, I presented my work as it truly was (lighting and furniture). After graduating from university, I was able to enter the Department of Architecture at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School.

Creating Products = An Extension of Architecture = Connecting with Space

YanagimotoHow was it after you advanced to graduate school?

UekiOnce I entered graduate school, I was overwhelmed by the architectural skills and high aspirations of those around me, thinking, "I can never match them." So, I gave up on architecture and shifted my focus to creating products and miscellaneous goods. My fellow students were all engrossed in their own project creations, and they didn't seem to mind that I was making strange things. Similarly, I was absorbed in my own product creation. However, the school then told me, "You won't be able to graduate at this rate" (laughs). Indeed, it was an architecture department, but I had no architectural projects. So, I had another in-depth discussion with my professor. It wasn't that I was simply avoiding architecture; rather, I viewed creating products as an extension of architecture, a way to connect with space. When I explained my concept to the professor – "evoking space from objects, rather than creating space from floors, walls, and ceilings" – the professor understood my intentions. For my graduation project, I designed a chair, a door, and lighting, and successfully graduated. This experience served as an opportunity to confirm my desire to pursue product design within the context of studying architecture.

YanagimotoAnd after graduation, you immediately went into product design?

UekiNo, even after graduating, I was still within the realm of "architecture" (laughs). After graduation, I joined an architectural firm. However, even there, I expressed my desire to do "product design that connects with architecture," and the representative of the firm agreed with my opinion. But I knew nothing about product design, and I was ignorant about manufacturing and sales channels... It took several years for things to take shape and be sold, and during that time, it was a series of struggles. Of course, I also assisted with architectural work. Looking back, ideas accumulated in my notebook like a student's, but I didn't know how to bring them to fruition... yet I was instinctively working with my own hands.

YanagimotoFrom that tentative state, were there any major turning points that led to your products becoming a distributed brand?

UekiSince I didn't know anything, I started thinking about how to make them... First, I began making them by hand, one or two at a time. But I sensed that customers would find it easier to buy if there were a selection, rather than just a few items in a store. Around that time, I was frequently traveling to Thailand for my architectural work, and the network of Japanese people there is incredible. People from various industries are connected in some way. By chance, when I mentioned, "I want to create something like this," I was easily introduced to someone involved in manufacturing within that network. Furthermore, when I showed them the items I had made myself, they were surprisingly quick to finish about 100 pieces, saying, "Shall we make about 100 right away?" I was astonished by their agility (laughs). Things that I could only make one or two of suddenly became 100, which allowed me to approach retail stores. Through repeat orders and subsequent orders, I was able to have my products carried by stores I liked. Come to think of it, I didn't know the obvious fact that product designers design, and manufacturers produce. I learned firsthand that just showing an idea doesn't lead anywhere; it's not until it's made that it becomes a product design. It was only then that I could truly begin as a designer.

Akiko Ueki | UEKI Asuko
Designer. Representative of phrungnii. Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1977. Graduated from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Meiji University in 2001. Completed graduate studies at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2003. Established the product brand "phrungnii" at Apartment Co., Ltd. in 2004. Since 2006, has been operating the original stationery brand "Mizushima" with the owner of the stationery store "36."
http://www.apartment.gr.jp/phrungnii