Their real value is in unearthing the story that resides in every item, using it as a toehold on a new solution for the challenges of the real world, and hopefully bringing the consumer to realize, “I really did need this item in my life!!”

The “10,000 Creators Meet PASS THE BATON” project is part of our New Recycling at Pass the Baton. This time we brought creators and designers into the mix by working with Loftwork.com which has over 10,000 designer/creator members.

We started the project in April 2013 by asking for design ideas for the recycle/reuse of batches of dead stock and imperfect items donated by four companies. From all the submissions received, and after a lot of discussion and prototyping with the creators, seven items were chosen to be put into production.

What is the chemical reaction in the encounter of object and creator, with the addition of the accumulated wisdom of others?
— Take a good look at that process, plus the wonderful objects it created.

Project Planning & Management: Loftwork, Smiles
Judges: Chiaki Hayashi (Loftwork), Ryosuke Uehara (Kigi), Yoshie Watanabe (Kigi), Masamichi Toyama (Smiles)
Cooperation: Akasaka Kakiyama, Neal’s Yard Remedies, AS Corporation, JIN Co Ltd

Exhibits

Products will be debuted for sale at the following exhibits:

Pass The Baton gallery (Omote-sando, Tokyo)
・Exhibit: March 20 (Thu) thru April 13 (Sun), 2014
・Address: Omote-sando Hills Nishikan B2F, 4-12-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku Tokyo
＊Products are displayed for sale together with the story of their creation in a gallery format

FabCafe Tokyo (Shibuya, Tokyo)
・Exhibit: April 1 (Tue) thru April 13 (Sun), 2014
・Address: Dogenzaka Pia 1F, 1-22-7 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku Tokyo

At Exhibit Opening

Chiaki Hayashi (Loftwork)

The “10,000 Creators Meet Pass the Baton” project was like a battle of the creators.

Scraps of camel’s hair fabric, eyeglass frame leftovers, used skincare containers, imperfect rice crackers. All these items were guaranteed to tickle the fancy of the designer spirit.

This exhibition shows the completed products designed and made by seven designers.
What was the designer’s perspective and process for breathing new life into each of these materials?
We want you to enjoy seeing these creations from the designer’s point of view.

All these materials have unlimited potential.
Let us know what you see in them too.

Masamichi Toyama (Smiles)

Getting together with creators to make something, nobody wants to compromise and the design is changed any number of times.
Cost has to be considered, and nothing works out as intended. All of a sudden, a year has gone by.
After all that, these are the creations that finally came into being.
This whole project came from the idea of avoiding waste, and so the ultimate results are as simple as they can be.
These ideas were the ones left standing after being selected and pared down from all the many ideas we had from 10,000 Creators. They are simple but super-refined like a gourmet premium sake. Give them a try.

This project, “10,000 Creators meet PASS THE BATON”, is a new challenge that combines the unique ideas of creators with efforts of PASS THE BATON’s “NEW RECYCLE” campaign. The key to achieving this is “rapid prototyping”, a method that allows for the creation of sample products in a short amount of time. Ms. Chiaki, representative of Loft Work, spoke to us about the potential of prototyping, what she discovered through prototyping workshops, the relevance of design in business, and more.
We also had project partner Smiles Corp. and PASS THE BATON division member Mr. Masaumi Morizumi sit down with us in our approach to the true essence of this project.

The Power of “Prototyping”

Loftwork Staff (abbreviated below):Recently, many companies have adopted rapid prototyping, but what factors led to Loftwork’s decision to actively adopt such a method?

Chiaki Hayashi (Ms. Hayashi below):I think it’s because we live in an unpredictable age. Loftwork’s action agenda for 2013 was comprised of three aspects: “To not predict”, “To practice”, and “the desire to do what we can’t now imagine”. In other words, our current society is too focused on the style of “a good plan creates good things”, but we feel like in reality that there are many things that fall under the category of “even without a good plan, if you put many things into real practice, you’ll create something good”.
If you want to improve something that already has established value, you should create a proper plan and implement an improvement process. However, if you want to create something of new value, it’s necessary to learn through a similar process to how a child develops. As a child learns to ride a bicycle by first falling over many times, it is important to do something by gaining real practice. There is no established method for success in the challenge of innovating to create new value. If this is the case, instead of placing the focus on creating a good plan, I believe that we can more definitively progress toward our destination by learning through a lot of real practice with only a basic plan.
Change comes quickly with rapid prototyping, and many correct paths show themselves. This method is known for being effective when attempting to discover new value in this complicated age, and of course not only us, but a variety of organizations and projects from all over the world have put the method into practice.

I see. I definitely do feel like many large companies keep at their base level the idea to “create a good plan in order to create good things.”

Ms. Hayashi: I get the sense that while they have supported the economy of Japan since its period of rapid economic growth, large companies use the formula that good things/things that sell = high quality products. The idea that having no defects or lasting a long time is the same as high quality. I feel that in the current age in which the expression of a product’s value, and the way it’s formed, is changing, the only way to create something good is to create it quickly, revising and improving it in the process. On the other hand, most large companies require that their products have achieved a 99.999% quality level before they are ever presented to the public. I think that there is something out of place creating this gap.
A variety of superior ideas are shelved before ever being announced, and in the meantime, manufacturers from overseas continue to gain ground. We have tried prototyping again exactly because this is the current state of affairs. I think the process of creating something, passing it on to the user, and gaining user feedback is truly important.

I see that there are even public applicants to the “10,000 creators meet PASS THE BATON” project who created prototypes for their submissions.

Ms. Hayashi: The truth is that almost every applicant whose product was chosen created prototypes as well. Prototyping allows you to understand what it takes to really make something, and also allows members of the judging panel (Masamichi Toyama of Smiles, Ryosuke Uehara and Yoshie Watanabe of KIGI, and Chiaki Hayashi of Loftwork) to imagine how the product should be brushed up, meaning it was easier for us to have discussions on the potential and interestingness of the creator’s point of view more than a simply graphic submission would.

Many products were made by KIGI for PASS THE BATON. The selected public submissions had to be able to face off on even ground against those curated by these top creators. Although the ideas may stem from different places, even these different ideas needed to reflect themselves in a sufficiently attractive way. I truly got the sense that this was Mr. Toyama’s attitude as part of the judging panel. He was always very serious about judging whether or not a submission was truly better than a KIGI creation and if it could shine on an even level with actual products.

Mr. Morizumi, working as head of the PASS THE BATON division.

Masaumi Morizumi (Mr. Morizumi below): After a submission was selected, I got the sense that holding discussions on commercializing it led to the refinement of creator skills, design expression, and more. To not simply view the design through a computer, but to use one’s hands to create form. The creation of a prototype was one component of evaluation as well.

Ms. Hayashi: One episode during my time on the Kaki (persimmon) judging panel, the first public submission project, “Akasaka Kakiyama” (loftwork.com insert page link here), left an impression on me as well. After Mr. Toyama asked, “What do you think about this idea?”, Mr. Uehara, immediately began cutting paper that was nearby, and Ms. Yoshie then drew on it, after which she placed it on top of a box and tapped on it. Finally, in order to check its completeness as a graphic, she captured it on film using her iPhone. This series of actions was truly an example of “rapid prototyping.”

Starting with Mr. Toyama’s idea, Mr. Watanabe drew a young girl on the spot and made her actually dance.

This has been called a recent and new method, but I think this method has probably been around for hundreds of years. Not just to speak, but to use the hands and mind to take action. I realized these were all part of the same set.

Taiwan x Loftwork x PASS THE BATON Workshop Discoveries

I know that you held a prototyping workshop with designers from Taiwan in June of 2013, but please tell us about the sequence of events that led to holding this event.

Ms. Hayashi: Originally, the designers from the Taiwan Design Center came to visit Japan in order to see the Interior Lifestyle international trade fair as part of their young member development program, and it was during that occasion that we first had the idea of holding a workshop. And we thought, if we’re going to hold a workshop, we should have it lead to something interesting. As a result, we consulted with Smiles asking them if they would let us work with items from the “10,000 creators meet PASS THE BATON”, or if they would allow us to enter a submission to them if we had a good idea, and this led to the birth of the workshop.

In this workshop, mixed teams made up of Taiwanese and Japanese members worked to create a prototype, and you participated as a facilitator as well. How did you feel as you watched people you had met for the first time collaborate together?

Ms. Hayashi: The participants that gathered were either professional designers or those who strongly wanted to become professional. As a result, there was no need for politics between the participants from Taiwan and Japan. English wasn’t great on either side, but the feeling of “I want to create something good” clashed all over the place. I really felt that this was something great. Without the clashing of ideas, new discoveries cannot be made，and I think those teams that made concessions on this front ended up making compromises.
Regardless of language barriers, if teams go forward without properly discussing what they like, what kind of value they want to create, and other such things, then in the final phase the ideas meander off course. As a result, a miscellaneous mixture of Taiwanese and Japanese tastes ended up showing through the creations of some of the teams.
Even when speaking about diversity across country borders, real diversity is not found through having certain things in common the moment people meet. The importance of true diversity is found only when people’s ideas don’t match and instead clash. I once again felt that “diversity” is truly represented by the idea that “it is easier said than done”. In other words, it’s important to not only assert yourself but to communicate why you are asserting yourself that way. For example, by not just saying “I like red”, but explaining why you like it, why red is an important color, and other background aspects allows you to find an even better solution.

I think that Team Camel, which created a neck warmer made from left over scrap camel fabric, was particularly skilled in this area. From the start, the team really gave off an aura of refusing to compromise. They truly shared the feeling of wanting to create something good, and as their facilitator and interpreter, I saw how they communicated their ideas to one another, and when they grasped the direction they wanted to go in, how they dived tasks, as one person would say “Okay, I’ll write the back story”, “I’ll sew”, “I’ll design the label”, and so forth. I think this surprising output was possible exactly because they were a team of those four. For your information, this neck warmer is in the process of being commercialized.

△A stole by Team Camel, made in the workshop using left over scrap camel fabric.

After finishing this workshop, a number of creators spoke of how they truly realized that they are Japanese. Frankly, Japanese designers wanted to subtract. However, designers from Taiwan wanted to add instead. They wanted to decorate. As a result, there was pulling back and forth between wanting to add and subtract. It’s extremely interesting how it seems that Japanese have it passé down in their DNA to find aesthetic beauty in minimizing, just as how in our culture we find a rock garden beautiful.

Designs that Shine Light on the Lost

In the “10,000 creators meet PASS THE BATON” project, the theme of the project involved left over scrap material and recycled goods. I feel like there is something very Japanese about this.

Ms. Hayashi: I may be misunderstood, but I think that in a mature country like Japan, many designs are actually redesigns. The other day, I heard a presentation by a young Chinese female architect regarding her plan for a city, and her idea was to create a new city completely from scratch. On the other hand, what I thought as I judged entries for the good design award was that what we are interested by in Japan these days is not to create something new but to shine light once again on things that have been lost or are no longer used. For example, rediscovering the value of houses with thatched roofs or redesigning areas or towns in decay. I feel that the idea of wanting to recapture those things that improve quality of life is similar to a redesign.

The NEW RECYCLE efforts of PASS THE BATON, and this project, were truly about taking preexisting things and looking at them again from a different point of view in order to recreate them. This can be applied to anything, and it really was a lesson in what is important when looking at something. It’s very exciting, and this perspective can be utilized for a variety of things.

The Inevitable Costs Paid for Value

I see that this project connected companies and designers.

Mr. Morizumi: It’s a very important thing to strive to accomplish something together with a company. Representatives from Familiar and members of the marketing department at Neal’s Yard, both companies that cooperated with us, came to our review of the workshop with Taiwan as well.

Grass-root movements are of course important, but having companies present is also very important. I feel that the fact that we were able to match the two in this case was a great thing. Smiles strives to be a company that can achieve both of these things.

Ms. Hayashi: It must be the culture of Smiles to bring representatives and marketing people to that place. To have not just the ego of the designer present, but to have people who can comment from the sales perspective. This back in forth was really exceptional.

I think that in establishing a successful business, the perspective of making something that sells becomes important.

Ms. Hayashi: If all we cared about was having someone say “what a wonderful effort”, I think the original meaning of this project would be lost. What we were in search of was just how much we could make something sellable. The fact that creators commit to this idea is what allows them to give birth to value for society. A designer isn’t someone who creates cool designs. The territory of a designer is continuously expanding, and these days all sorts of things need to be designed, from business models to organizations themselves. A single piece of output from a design process simply becomes a product with form. It starts with wanting to create something that sells. When you respond to a person who thinks a product is “good” with “that’ll be 10,000 yen”, I think the moment they choose to buy it is the moment you know they really did think it was god.

Mr. Morizumi: If you don’t end up being able to make money, you won’t be able to keep going.

Ms. Hayashi: If your vision has value, then it should also be able to make money. How you choose to take this and give it real meaning, and how you expand it, is the business of the matter. Just saying “it’s something nice so it doesn’t matter if I can make money” is wrong because the two should be one in the same. The same as having someone say thank you when you’ve done something nice. It has value so people will pay for that value. There’s pride to be had in creating something that corresponds to that value.

Please give a closing statement.

Ms. Hayashi: I am so happy that we were able to give form to the collaboration between PASS THE BATON, which I admire, everyone from Loftwork, and all the creators who participated with us. I will continue to feel a mix of excitement and nervousness until I see for the first time just how far Loftwork and the union of 10,000 creators can challenge and achieve compared to the level of creativity sought out by PASS THE BATON.
But when I look back at it now once again, I am surprised just how well each submission was chosen, and that we are currently in the concrete product development phase. We will try our best to ensure that this continues on to the next stage of interest.
Finally, we hope you come and purchase our products. Bring your whole family (laughs). Of course, I’ll be there shopping, too!

The final theme called for the submission of ideas for new products to be made using leftover pieces of resin (acetate) from the frames of eyeglasses from eyewear brand JINS. The competition drew 91 submissions, the largest number for the entire project. The colorful material, which can be easily cut, pressure bonded, flexed, polished, or otherwise worked, prompted a wide range of submissions, from accessories to stationery, toys, household items, and even an enormous chair.

For this contest, applicants were for the first time provided with the actual leftover eyeglass frame pieces that were the subject of the contest. The judges were looking forward to discovering how the submissions would take advantage of the characteristics and origin of these “leftovers” as well as the texture of the material, and how appealing, practical with regard to commercialization, and realistic they would be.

The distance between an appealing idea and reality

This report presents ideas that attracted particular attention during the judging.
The first idea to spark conversation among the judging members, from Koumei Yamashita, imagined the JINS eyeglass frame pieces as shogi pieces, and featured an eye-catchingly bold slogan.

Hayashi: “You remember this feel.” I had to laugh when I read that. Since shogi is an educational toy. It could be interesting.

Watanabe: The idea of showing the color underneath is also nice, isn’t it?

Uehara: I also immediately thought of shogi when I saw the material. The lettering for the design could use a bit more elaborate typography, though.

Toyama: It’s interesting, but I’m not sure how well it would sell as a product…

Hayashi: If it were made-to-order, without maintaining stock, … it might be feasible. Still, it might be difficult to use 4,000,000 resin pieces.

The next submission to attract attention came from Kyoko Fukuda / agura.

Toyama: What interested me is the idea of separating out these parts and using them to create another new pair of glasses. Creating a frame out of a mixture of parts of different shapes and colors, it’s a plan that would absolutely never come up when developing a product from scratch. If the pieces fit, it could be a one-of-a-kind item.

Hayashi: I’m still concerned about whether it’s feasible. Of course, it’s been calculated out, but I’m not sure whether it would work if it were actually attempted.

Watanabe: It could be a lot of effort to manufacture.

The ultimate goal is commercialization and sales

Although the judging members commented that submissions showed interesting ideas or cute designs, as their deliberation progressed, they often remarked that submissions would be difficult to implement or wondered whether an item would really sell, making it clear that the hurdle to commercialization and sales would be a high one

For example, though an artwork using large quantities of resin pieces in a single item would make an impact, there were concerns based on the precision of the plan about whether it could really be implemented.

The contest also received a large number of ideas for stationery, utility goods, and similar items that were passed over due to concerns including that, as recycled products, the unit cost (regarding the time and manpower for manufacturing) would need to be reduced in order for the product to sell, or that the item was cute but might not actually get much use.

Ultimately, the submission that received the highest evaluation in terms of practicability and product appeal was mano-keisuke’s “Ka-Sa-Ne [Brooch].”

Toyama: Since this was actually made into a prototype, you get a sense of the cute, rounded feel of it.

Watanabe: I may have seen similar designs before elsewhere. Still, it’s really pretty.

Uehara: Yeah, it’s pretty. I’d like to see the finished product.

Hayashi: Since they made a prototype, it’s pretty convincing. Aside from just a brooch, a variety of earrings or other accessories could be possible. We could even maybe ask them to make an accessory series.

When the judges tried to make one, …

Then, Mr. Uehara and Ms. Watanabe noticed this entry, “Glasses-duck,” from the same mano-keisuke.

Uehara: This could actually work….

Watanabe: The idea of simply sticking the resin pieces together without changing their original shape could be interesting. I think it’s nice how it has a connection to glasses.

Feeling curious, Uehara and Watanabe both tried to make a prototype then and there.

Watanabe: I think it’s even cuter now. We did a pretty good job (laughs).

Hayashi: It’s photogenic, isn’t it? This would look great in a JINS store!

Toyama: It could be funny to have about 300 of these lined up like an exhibition.

And so, it was decided that mano-keisuke’s brooch and glasses stand ideas would proceed to becoming products, along with the possibility of further product development. Below are presented some general comments from the judging members.

General comments from judging members

Masamichi Toyama from Smiles

The material can be cutely modern and the submissions were generally really elegant, so I had fun being a judge. However, despite my thinking that things would be really amazing this time, there weren’t many “ace in the hole” ideas, so after much consideration, my feeling was that Mr. Mano’s skill really shone in the end.

Since the material in the form of the acetate pieces is appealing in and of itself, if the designs can be finalized for commercialization, the results are sure to be good. It could also be fun to get JINS involved in the production.

Ryosuke Uehara from Kigi

In my judging of this contest, I was looking for things that shared some connection with eyeglasses. When I really looked at the winning bird glasses stand idea, it was surprisingly cute. It would be great if this meant a product that could be done together with JINS.

Yoshie Watanabe from Kigi

This probably applies to lots of things, but it’s important to have some sort of shared connection that ties together your idea and materials. I’m probably being repetitive, but I felt that it isn’t the case that you can process a material into just anything. I always enjoyed and found meaning in things that took advantage of the shape of the resin pieces or only used a little processing. The bird and brooch ideas certainly fit the bill.

Chiaki Hayashi from Loftwork

The material being as appealing as it is, I expected to see some really surprising ideas, but was disappointed that there weren’t any truly breakthrough submissions. I still haven’t let go of the question of whether there might be a design that would make use of the 4,000,000 resin pieces that are produced every year and more readily become part of daily life, so I wouldn’t mind another shot at this somehow.

The critical point regarding the winning entries was whether or not they could be implemented the right way. In this contest, I saw many entries with presentation that made me think they would look great on display, but I feel like there were also a lot of entries where I couldn’t overcome doubts regarding their feasibility. Of the entries, I had the most confidence in mano-keisuke’s submissions, since they had actually been assembled, which gave me enthusiasm.

A committee was held in August to judge Project Vol. 3 Pass the Baton: 10,000 Creators Meet.

In this project, we gathered product designs and ideas for ways in which to utilize the tube-shaped cut off ends of camel fabric, a material used in cold resistant underwear such as long underpants, etc. We asked: How can camel fabric underwear, known for having an “ugly” and “old” image, be transformed into an attractive product?

How did the designers in this project change their perspective toward the product design in order to draw out and present new value? Please take a look.

How much is “just right” when reworking recycled material?

To begin with, Mr. Toyama of Smiles, Mr. Uehara and Ms. Watanabe of Kigi, and committee members of Ms. Hayashi’s Loftwork shared their thoughts with each other on taking the cut-off end samples in the directions of clothing and fashion that were the most popular collected suggestions.

Ms. Hayashi: This camel fabric is the kind of material that women would like. It feels comfortable as something to wear while home.

Ms. Watanabe: “Yes, it does feel comfortable. I think it would be pretty cute as a skirt as well.”

Mr. Uehara: “I think it would come out as a great product if a real fashion designer were to work with it.”

Mr. Toyama: “But let’s say we started making clothes with these in earnest. How much do you think we could get out of each piece? In that case, wouldn’t it make more sense to just use normal camel fabric?

As in the theme of Project Vol. 2, the camel fabric used this time is also a material that can “be made into anything with money, time, and effort.” It appears that the key point in assessing ideas was the way in which the designers adjusted their perspective to take advantage of the strong points of the fabric, such as its nice feel, its ability to retain heat, and its ability to expand and contract, while keeping in mind how to transform the limited cut-off end pieces into an attractive product.
“In the end, a product that utilizes this tube shape might be best.”

After discussions, WOLFPROJECT’s “Recycled Rakuda (Camel) Fabric Room Relax Set” cushion case idea was selected as it utilized the tube shape and color of the camel fabric.
http://www.loftwork.com/projects/meet10000-03/result/

Wolf.project『RECYCLED RAKUDA FABRIC ROOM RELAX SET』

This product is a comfortable cushion that has a blanket and “Monpe” (women’s ankle pants) made of the same material inside the case. However, as some committee members felt that creating a “Monpe” might be going too far, we plan to develop the product focusing on the blanket and cushion.

Reaffirmed confidence in the cuteness of the design through prototyping.

Along with entries we received from the public, we also considered whether or not to commercialize prototypes (sample products) that were created through the workshop held by the Taiwan Design Center in June.

At the Make-a-thon, a workshop where designers get together to focus and create new products within a limited amount of time, designers from Taiwan and Japan formed teams together to create new products from the design formation to prototyping stage over two days under the same theme that was given to public entrants.

From the five teams that were formed for this workshop, the suggested idea from the Camel Team was rated highly, resulting in the idea being specially chosen for commercialization.

“Couple Camel”
Design: Chihiro Honda (Kigi), Ken’ichi Matsumoto (Moto Moto), Yiwen Wu (Balance Beam Design), Mingzong Luo (Artman International Space Design Group) /
Workshop Host: Taiwan Design Center / Planning: Smiles Co., Ltd., Loftwork Co., Ltd.

Planning: Smiles Co., Ltd., Loftwork Co., Ltd.

Four people cooperated on the Camel Team, overcoming the barriers of language, to create a product that utilized each of their different skills. They worked together on all steps, from the background concept and story, to the packaging that represents a camel’s torso and the Africa inspired patterned tag. It’s hard to believe that four people who had just met could design such a product in just two days. The committee members all praised the product’s high degree of completion.

Mr. Uehara: “I really felt that this was a good product seeing just how well the design graphic had been completed.”

Ms. Hayashi: “It’s lighter than I expected and feels nice. The color combination is cute.”

Mr. Uehara: “It’s quite fashionable when you try it on, don’t you think?”

Ms. Hayashi: The Camel team progressed with product creation by making sure the product would truly turn out cute by connecting pieces of material together and trying the pieces on around the neck. This output is the kind that only comes from a workshop, but I really got a feel for how important the process of actually touching the material is.

On the other hand, it appears that the wave-type seam of the product, which was chosen for its unique design, did not stand out very much when worn.

“I understand that they were trying for the camel hump look, but would it not be better to sew it straight? (Ms. Watanabe)
This was one of some such opinions.

In addition, using the wave-type cut reduced the amount of recyclable material, and so this aspect was chosen as something to be reconsidered during actual product development.

Committee Member General Evaluations

Masamichi Endo (Smiles)

When the theme for this project was decided, I worried if we would truly be able to arrive at our goal, but this worry was put to rest when I saw the designs that came in surpassing my imagination. The “Couple Camel” product that came out of the workshop took particularly good advantage of the concept and the power of graphics. The product was worthy of being the output of Pass the Baton: 10,000 creators meet.
The more I experienced being a committee member, the stronger my feeling became that, as we are in business to sell products, if we are going to do this, we must make these concepts into viable products. However, it is important not just to think about what is “interesting”, but also to imagine what customers would happily purchase, as well as even the production process. In this regard, the chosen idea was truly easy to work with, and I believe we have arrived at a product that our customers will happily purchase.

Ryosuke Uehara (Kigi)

I was also worried whether or not we could really accomplish the task when I first saw what the project entailed. To be honest, I’m not sure I could accomplish it if I were to try creating it on my own. But, when I think about it more, I realize that it might have been more possible than I first thought when I was simply given a feel of the material and told to make something with a camel theme. I think it’s wonderful that we were able to arrive at a great product without becoming stuck on the image of camel fabric underpants.

Yoshie Watanabe (Kigi)

If we were to use the camel fabric cut-off ends as “cloth”, we would be able to make anything, but I felt that using the fabric in this way did not match the main intention of this task. The fact that the material could be made into anything only made the task that much more difficult.
The chosen concept utilized the tube shape of the cut-off ends, but simply using the tube shape would have been too simple. By matching it with graphics, I feel that we were able to get across the charm of the product. There were certain areas that might need improvement during actual commercialization stages, but I believe that the product is complete.

Chiaki Hayashi (Loftwork)

To be creative using this recycled product, I felt it was important to confront the issue by utilizing the optimum amount of what remained of the original raw material.
Leaving the material too much as-is reduces its attractiveness, but being overly picky or changing too much can put a burden on production costs and product presentation. If you choose to apply only one creative idea, then the issue becomes how and what to change. It’s like thought training.
I feel that Couple Camel solved the puzzle of this project extremely well.

The judging committee gathered in July to judge entries to Volume 2 of the “10,000 Creators Meet PASS THE BATON” project.

The theme was to recycle the “blue bottle” used by the British brand Neal’s Yard Remedies for their organic beauty products. Because glass is a material that can easily be transformed through processing, we received a wide variety of ideas for products that make the most of the beautiful blue color.

The winning products of this round were selected by Mr. Toyama from Smiles, Mr. Uehara and Ms. Watanabe from Gigi, and Ms. Hayashi from Loftwork.

The significance of using the Neal’s Yard Remedies bottle

Mr. Kajiwara, president of the Japanese subsidiary of Neal’s Yard Remedies, called the bottle a “perfected design” that has not changed for thirty years. The judges all nodded and agreed with Mr. Toyama’s opinion that “the design of the bottle itself is undeniably lovely.”
Mr. Kajiwara, president of the Japanese subsidiary of Neal’s Yard Remedies, called the bottle a “perfected design” that has not changed for thirty years. The judges all nodded and agreed with Mr. Toyama’s opinion that “the design of the bottle itself is undeniably lovely.”

Ms. Watanabe from Kigi said, “Even though you can make anything out of it, that doesn’t quite mean it can become anything.”
Ms. Hayashi from Loftwork agreed. “It wouldn’t mean the same thing if it were made with Ryukyu glass or some other kind of glass.”

The key to winning over the judges would be in how an entry expressed the significance of using the Neal’s Yard Remedies bottle when the glass can be made into any shape.

The three winning designs

Mr. Toyama from Smiles found Wolf.project’s design to be the most fascinating. The designer melted down bottles to make a new bottle that applied almost the same original design but in a larger size to be used as a container for water or food.

Mr. Toyama: “Do you see that? It’s the original bottle, just made bigger. Interesting, huh?”

Mr. Uehara: “No, I didn’t see that…!”

Mr. Toyama: “At my house, I use big bottles to store rice and pasta. Wouldn’t these look stylish like that? They’d also be a great present for wedding guests. It could say something like ‘please fill me with a lot of love.’”

Wolf.project　『Re-SIZED NEAL’S YARD BOTTLE -for food-』

In the end, three unique ideas including Wolf.project’s design above that fulfilled the criteria of “utilizing the bottle’s shape”, “fitting with the Neal’s Yard Remedies brand philosophy”, and of course being “appealing as a product” were chosen to be made into real products. (You can read comments about the winning designs here on this website)

STUDIO BYCOLOR “CANDLE_GLASS”

julien wulff”Bottle recycled toy / art toy”

General comments from the judges

Masamichi Toyama (Smiles)

It was fun to judge this round. The base material was really gorgeous on its own, and it seems like a lot of the contestants really got the Neal’s Yard Remedies philosophy. You could tell that all the entries tried to make the most of the bottle itself. At PASS THE BATON, we call making recycled things that are more fascinating than the original product “going beyond the net price”. Ideas like Wolf.project’s idea to enlarge the original bottle are interesting, and I feel like they have potential. I look forward to seeing the actual product made.

Ryosuke Uehara (Kigi)

This round had a simple theme, and it seemed like everyone had fun coming up with ideas. I also really enjoyed judging them.

Yoshie Watanabe (Kigi)

It’s easy to take things too far when there’s a lot of artistic freedom. I felt like the ideas that made the most of the blue bottle would make for good designs.

Chiaki Hayashi (Loftwork)

Everyone on the judging committee was really impressed, and I feel the same way. Even if you don’t change the entire shape of the bottle, you can use an interesting perspective to create so much new value.

The first screening for “10,000 creators meet PASS THE BATON” took place at the Smiles office on a day in June.
The brief for Project vol.1 was the design for a gift that makes use of “Ohajiki,” which are broken pieces of rice crackers from the famous rice cracker shop Akasaka Kakiyama, and tins of dead stock. The four judges, Mr. Toyama, Mr. Uehara from Kigi, Ms. Watanabe, and Ms Hayashi from Loftwork, examined the 72 entries seriously. There was even an instance during the screening where they actually made and tested the submitted ideas. How the screening unfolded is shown in a photo report. At the end, there are also comments from each of the judges on the panel, so please take a look!

The Judges Look through All Submissions

First, all judges look through all of the submissions. They checked each one very carefully, down to every sentence written on the submission form.

Mr. Toyama (left) and Mr. Uehara from Kigi (right)

Ms. Watanabe from Kigi (near) and Ms. Hayashi from Loftwork (far).

After the judges looked through all of the entries, the entries were narrowed down and a discussion was held. Opinions were exchanged on several points, such as whether the idea is unique, attractive as a design, and feasible, and whether it can be presented clearly in store.

A discussion on each of the approaches of “rice crackers” and “packaging”

At first, the ideas of processing the rice crackers themselves attracted attention. These included coating the rice crackers in chocolate, and selling the rice cracker as a topping for soups. However, these ideas left the judges with concerns in feasibility, for instance how to cover the product development costs. Furthermore, in order to ensure that the end product can actually be sold successfully in the PASS THE BATON stores, it is necessary to consider factors such as the design and the direction of the in-store promotion schemes.

Next, the topic of conversation moved to the entries that focused on how to make the product interesting using the packaging. The judges saw an idea where the rice crackers represent sumo wrestlers, and they can be made to “fight” each other on top of the packaging box by two players tapping on the box and seeing which one falls off first. The judges decided to try out this game.

First, cards are placed on the box. But tapping does not make them “fight” very well?

After hearing Mr. Toyama’s comment of “It is more like a dance than a bout of sumo,” Ms. Watanabe drew a picture of a girl on the spot, and made her dance.

Mr. Uehara takes a picture of the dancing girl on his iPhone. The others are impressed- “Very nice.” “It’s cute.”

In the end, zuca’s suggestion, the “Sumo Rice Crackers,” which added the new dimension of play to the Ohajiki, was highly commended and it was decided that it would be made into a product.

zuca’s “Sumo Rice Crackers”

Comments from the Judges

Masamichi Toyama (Smiles)

I am pleased that there were many entries. The brief of Project vol.1 had the two elements of designing and coming up with an idea. While there were some strict restrictions on design, there were many entries that tried to win in the idea aspect. However, on the whole, I got the impressions that they could have pushed themselves further with the ideas. In the end, there were two interesting ideas, but I feel that they still have a long way to go until they are actually made into products.

Ryosuke Uehara (KIGI)

This was the first time I have judged work solely based on documents, and my honest opinion is that it was difficult to decide after just interpreting the work myself. From the judged entries, I felt that they wanted to organize the problems and propose ideas. However, I got the impression that the finished designs were not great overall.

Yoshie Watanabe (KIGI)

In this time’s task the entries not only had to be superficially aesthetically pleasing, but also had to be linked to the contents. On the whole, I would have liked to see entries with more refined designs. Regarding the entry that was chosen, when we actually made it and tested it, the movement was unexpectedly fun and exciting, and I felt that it was a good idea.

Chiaki Hayashi (Loftwork)

There were other entries with potential apart from the selected one. The selected entry is a suggestion that we did not anticipate. In response to the brief of the project of “producing new value,” it does not just perform in the aspect of the taste of the rice crackers, nor does it just perform in the aspect of design. I hope that it can be made into a product in a good way.

Thank you very much to all of the judges!

10,000 creators meet PASS THE BATON. The third competition’s theme is devoted to recycling and to “Rakuda cloth,” the warm textile fabric pioneered in Japan. This round competition will challenge designers to transform their ideas into attractive products, including winter undergarments like comfy half-length long johns and shirts that require innovative production processes.
We spoke with Mr. Keisuke Takemura of AZU Co., Ltd., the founder of the unique Steteco brand (steteco.com), who provided the raw materials for the current project.

The charm of “Rakuda,” a must-have for winter

This “10,000 creators meet PASS THE BATON” project will spotlight “Rakuda cloth,” the textile from which cozy winter undergarments are made.

This creative meet’s Rakuda cloth theme is “remnants.” Each textile remnant piece is 47 to 59cm long and around 55 to 59cm wide. All pieces have seams in them.

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The color of the cloth is Rakuda color, mainly beige and grey. It is made entirely in Japan, from raw material production through product sewing.

Reverse nap processing at the Mie factory (left) and cutting at our own Kumamoto factory (right). The Aichi factory uses old knitting machines that have become scarce both in Japan and abroad (three-step two-sided knitting machines). The Mie plant also has sophisticated finishing techniques for fluffier, warmer textiles.

People working at the Kumamoto plant

Let me tell you about this great feeling!! A insider chat about the birth of steteco.com

“I thought that wearing one more layer of clothing on a hot day would just make me hotter, but I was really surprised by how good it felt.”
Mr. Takemura dreamed his steteco dream when he had just joined the company. The key moment came when his supervisor recommended that he try wearing the half-length long johns under his suit in mid-summer.
Steteco, when worn under trousers, absorbs and then releases perspiration, eliminating stickiness and bringing a new comfort to summer living. Also, when coming home, a man can undress down to his steteco and relax right away. That feels great. Even young people who once thought of steteco as “primitive,” “for old men,” or “ugly,” quickly change their minds to “hey, these feel great!” and “these will probably sell” as soon as they try them on.
It may sound a little outrageous, but it’s fair to say “try them once and you’re hooked.” Steteco are now even rumored to be poisoning the rest of the industry. From the start, Mr. Takemura thought they are a pretty attractive product. So he thought “I want to make something that the younger generation, even women, will wear, even if they’ve never once tried on a pair of steteco in their lives.” And he set up his new brand with this in mind.

A bold strategy of not selling in places where undergarments are sold

In addition to using vivid colors and bold-patterned designs, steteco.com also collaborates with the spirited creative talent at HIRO COLEDGE and NUNO Works. Their work is mesmerizing fashion-conscious young people.

The new steteco.com brand got traction with the cooperation of various people inside and outside the company. Mr. Takemura paid attention not only to updating the designs but also to where steteco were sold.
“I thought that steteco could be intriguing, in sharp contrast to the ugly, old-fashioned reputation among young people, including me. To elicit interest in that intriguing quality, I decided to search for sales venues that would let people see steteco in a new light.
“I tried approaching various retail outlets, mainly museum shops, boutiques, and home merchandise shops. From the start I deliberately avoided the underwear departments of conventional department stores and supermarkets.”
This strategy brought success. The product was picked up in fashion magazines and other media starting in 2008, the year of its launch. Furthermore, just as Mr. Takemura thought, people who actually bought steteco were enthralled by the feel, and fans proliferated through repeat purchases and word-of-mouth advertising. Today, awareness had risen to the point that big apparel makers, driven by stetco’s popularity, have started developing steteco collections positioned as at-home lounge wear for young people.

Steteco Research Labs is the concept of the steteco.com website. The site offers information on retail outlets, the latest collections, and on steteco itself.

A radical new approach — Japanese sensibility and a warm material

We asked Mr. Takemura, who had spoken so passionately about Rakuda cloth, steteco, and Japanese style undergarments, what he hoped for from the participants in the 10,000 Creators Meet PASS THE BATON.
“Although nowhere is there a written record, Rakuda cloth has been produced for over 35 years, since before the advent of widespread air conditioning. This background proves its worth and goodness absolutely. I would be very happy if designers can make it into new forms. I want designers to understand that the inside meaning of this expectation is that I want to work together on a movement for the rebirth of Japan’s Rakuda cloth.”
We look forward to the emergence of innovative recycling project concepts that engage Rakuda cloth’s warmth, texture, and fluffy round shape while also completely reversing its old reputation.

Distinctive warmth and feel of Rakuda cloth half-length long johns

“Ohajiki” Are Crackers that Don’t Meet the Specifications of Premium Okaki Crackers

Akasaka Kakiyama’s Okaki rice crackers are a popular gift in Japan. Ohajiki are shards of and cracked Okaki, which do not meet the specifications of our standard rice crackers.

Kakiyama Okaki is committed to bringing out the original flavor of the rice used as the primary ingredient in the crackers. 5 to 15 per cent of which–depending on the type–are designated as Ohajiki, which is sold at a lower price as a non-standard product. What’s the story behind the creation of Ohajiki? By looking at its origin we see many aspects of the “new recycling.”

Produced in Toyama, Okaki Pays Special Attention to the Flavor of the Rice

Kakiyama Okaki is made in the company’s Toyama Plant. The raw ingredients include rice grown nearby, cultivated in abundant sunlight, and pure mountain spring water.

The entire production process is very labor intensive in order to bring out the texture and flavor of the rice, which includes steaming performed in wooden crates and grinding with pestles. The highly trained staff spend many hours carefully modifying the production process to take into account the day’s weather conditions and the characteristics of the rice in order to make the most delicious Okaki possible.

For further details about the production process, please visit our site at here.

Hajiki Are Chosen by Factory Staff

The cooking process is performed under the discerning eyes of our staff who also check and sort the crackers by hand. It is not only shards and cracked Ohaki that become Ohajiki but crackers that are too big or too small as well.

Although the raw materials and process are the same as for normal Ohaki, Ohajiki is not suitable to be given as a “special gift item,” which requires an uncompromising attention to detail for the entire production process.

The Innovative Use of Packaging that Did Not Show the Contents

In addition to the quality of the cracker itself, special attention is also paid to the packaging. This goes back to 1972 when the company was founded.

Okaki was generally sold as a common snack when Mr. Kawai, the company founder, had the novel idea that by using gourmet ingredients Okaki could given as a gift like Western confectionaries. He also decided to adopt the same packaging concept type as the sweets, which hid their contents, and sell the crackers in beautifully designed decorative tins. It was the first time Okaki become a “high class” treat.

A Collectible Decorative Tin

There are many varieties of packaging designs for Okaki in order to meet the needs of seasonal events like the Hina Matsuri festival, Valentines Day, and bridal showers.

On the other hand, due to strong demand, the standard tin for gift sets is manufactured only once per year in large quantities. There are many fans of these tins, who feel it would be a disservice to throw them away. But because the design is changed every year any leftover tins cannot be reused.

So for this Ohajiki project we have decided used these deadstock tins.

What Kakiyama Hopes to Achieve

Ms.Sato

The company also wants to gain greater recognition abroad and is are participating in special overseas events. Company founder Mr. Kawai dreamed that Kakiyama would one day make “Okaki” an everyday word in foreign countries.
　　　
To conclude, Ms. Sato had the following to say about the current project.
“We hope all the designers involved will have fun with this project. Your designs will lead a younger generation of people to experience the deliciousnous of Okaki.”　　　　

Ohajiki has the same ingredients and labor intensive process as the company’s other crackers and come in decorative tins that cannot be used for the standard products because they are no longer current. It is a great opportunity for customers to experience the high standards of Kakiyama. We hope that you will consider this recycle gift idea, which represents both the culinary and aesthetic aspects of the company, and at a lower price.

>>Project vol.1: Why not consider a new type of gift, one made from dead stock containers and premium factory okaki (rice cracker) seconds, known as “Ohajiki”?