KiBiSi and Kosho Ito Announce OTO for East Japan Project by Kengo Kuma

December 1, 2016

KiBiSi and Kosho Ito Announce OTO for East Japan Project by Kengo Kuma

December 12, 2016

Our KiBiSi collaboration has designed OTO, a ceramic analog speaker for iPhone. OTO is handmade in East Japan by ceramic artist Kosho Ito and produced for the East Japan Project. The East Japan Project was founded by Kengo Kuma and Associates, in support of local artisans after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and aims to revive traditional crafts in that region.

Combining analog sound enhancement and a storage bowl for small items, OTO brings together modern tech lifestyle and traditional ceramics. OTO unites cultures of simplicity: Scandinavian modernism and Japanese art & craft tradition blend to create a new everyday object with an interesting sense of contemporary heritage.

OTO is a semi-industrial product, produced on a pottery wheel and with traditional craft techniques, including a rare crack-surface treatment that makes every object unique. Japanese Walnut wood feet lift OTO to enhance the acoustics, and a walnut wood iPhone dock accommodates the device.

OTO is available via theĀ East Japan Project.