COMPETITION

Looking for product ideas which use "wabi-sabi" style iron to enrich one's lifestyle.

Looking for product ideas utilizing ARTSTEEL: iron with a beautiful finish thanks to our unique processing technique, as well as having a high level of durability through the application of an oxide film process.

Results MON, APR 22, 2019 - MON, AUG 05, 2019

Application eligibility

All lifestyle-related products.

As long as the product idea relates to living (e.g., living room furniture, kitchen, miscellaneous goods, living ware, etc) any category is acceptable. Ideas that only partially utilize ARTSTEEL are also acceptable.

Please propose product ideas that will make life more comfortable/luxurious utilizing ARTSTEEL. We look forward to gathering ideas sensitive to various people's perspectives and imagination.

Examples:

・ Living room furniture (chairs, lighting, shelving, etc.)
・ Exterior (veranda chairs, outdoor stools, etc.)
・ Kitchen goods (pot holders, coasters, etc.)
・ Miscellaneous (pens, paperweights, buckets, etc.)
・ Housewares (toilet paper holders, wall hooks, etc.)

※This time the following things are ineligible:

・ Things such as ornamental objects that are difficult to demonstrate as having practical benefits to consumers' lives.
・ Products which do not utilize ARTSTEEL in any way.

Theme

Product ideas which use "wabi-sabi" style iron to enrich one's lifestyle.

Born from drawing on the natural beauty of iron and unique patterns from purposefully created rust & machined variation, the appearance of "ARTSTEEL" has gained popularity among modern-day creatives through its "wabi-sabi" charm. Within wabi-sabi there is room for imagination and for a sense of aesthetics that perceives the world from unique vantage points.

Please propose product ideas that will make our lives luxurious, incorporating such a vantage point of wabi-sabi simply into living spaces.

Interview with the organizer

We asked Mr. Kaneshige Matsukawa, the chairman of Front Co., Ltd., the company behind "ARTSTEEL," the theme material for "Search for product ideas for creating a rich life using "wabi-sabi" steel," and Mr. Sato, the designer who has been developing products with Front Co., Ltd., about the appeal and characteristics of "ARTSTEEL" and their hopes for the award.

--What is the appeal of "ARTSTEEL"?

Chairman Matsukawa: We started as a manufacturer of steel building materials in 1980. Steel is a very good material. It is inexpensive and highly workable. As a building material, it is excellent, but its only drawback was the rust. On one occasion, I thought about how I could make a material that utilizes this rust as part of its design, so I decided to look into designing weathering steel. And about 15 years ago, we were finally able to create the archetype of "ARTSTEEL," a weathering steel with the beautiful look of natural rust.

From there, I was further drawn to the allure of the texture of steel, and I have expanded our lineup to include things like the "SUPER C.F.C" series, where we apply a fine pattern to the steel by using vibration polishing after processing it with phosphoric acid. We also obtained a patent for our "steel building material with polished patterns and its manufacturing method." See more

About the Prize(s)

  • GOLD PRIZE (1 idea)

  • SILVER PRIZE (1 idea)

  • AUDIENCE PRIZE

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