A family run print company in Tachikawa, in the western part Tokyo, Fukunaga Print Co. set off in a new direction in 2006. Their Kami no Kosakujo (Paper Workshop) project launched in this year, sought to pair their skills with imagination from Japan’s community of great designers. The Air Vase range is a successful outcome of this project, with the print company’s ability to work with paper matched to the structural imagination of the Torafu Architect’s studio.

With a strength that belie their material, the spiral vases hint to the traditional function of paper in Japanese house construction. Unique items, they are also collectable, with some of Japan’s leading artists and designers supplying patterns to adorn them. They can be used in presentation, decoration or as far as the imagination allows.

From the Air Vase artist series, Sky and Party are both based on artwork contributed by designer Akira Minigawa, under his minä perhonen alias. Known for this fashion designs, and illustrations, here Minagawa’s distinctive imagination shows forms such as birds and rain within the clear peace of the Sky, and lively shapes and patterns that meet in Party.

Moyamoya meanwhile is a series of expressive works by the manga artist Takehito Inoue. Known for his basketball manga Slam Dunk among other works, these air vase show another side to his visual imagination.