March 9, 2017
For a limited time, we’re offering our entire Otsuka Tableware line for 30% off. Made by the same Japanese glass company who makes our popular Short Mixing Glass, these simple and elegant glass dispensers showcase, store, and serve condiments in style. The Otsuka Tableware line includes: Glass Pepper Shaker: For ground pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, curry, sansho, or other finely ground […]
May 20, 2015
*Yoko is in China for 10 days! And with no access to Facebook or Instagram, she is sending us photos the old school way — via postcards. We’ll be featuring these snapshots from Yoko in Chengdu and Shanghai all week here on the blog. Enjoy! – Kayoko For your health and safety, dish sets are […]
May 14, 2015
I’d like to start with a little background on the small town of Tsubame-Sanjo. This manufacturing town in Niigata Prefecture produces most of Japan’s stainless steel items. If you are enjoying a little cake with a tiny fork in Tokyo or stirring a cocktail with a barspoon from Umami Mart, chances are these utensils were […]
August 2, 2013
After months of hard negotiating, Johnny is moving to the East Bay! Yup, we are moving in together, into a quaint one-bedroom apartment with views of Lake Merritt on super cheap rent. It wasn’t easy to convince Johnny to move over to the sunnier side of the bay — he has lived in the Outer […]
March 15, 2012
Remember when I designed the Umamimart travel mug back in 2010? Well, this spring Scandinavian Airlines (SAS as we call it in Denmark) called for submissions from designers to redesign their cardboard cups for tea and coffee, during air travel across the globe. They serve 70,000 customers in the air every day (!). You see, when I’m […]
January 4, 2012
Five minutes. That’s litterally how much time I had to decide whether I was going to accept the out of the blue New Year’s Eve dinner party invitation from my friends in Stockholm at 12:30 in the afternoon on Dec 31, 2011. That’s all the time I had including packing my socks/curlers/laptop/night cream, locking up […]
April 13, 2011
We all know how even the saddest piece of stale-ass bread can taste so good when we’re out in nature, hungry after a walk and enjoying the snack with friends and the singing birds. When you talk about umami, it’s not just about the flavours in your mouth. It’s just as well about all the […]