Tajimi Custom Tiles Debuts at Milan Design Week 2022.

Max Lamb for Tajimi Custom Tiles. Photo by Kenta Hasegawa.

Max Lamb for Tajimi Custom Tiles. Photo by Kenta Hasegawa.

Max Lamb for Tajimi Custom Tiles on show at Milan Design Week 2022 at Assab One. Photo by Jonathan Mauloubier.

Kwangho Lee for Tajimi Custom Tiles. Photo by Kenta Hasegawa.

Kwangho Lee for Tajimi Custom Tiles. Photo by Kenta Hasegawa.

Kwangho Lee for Tajimi Custom Tiles on show at Milan Design Week 2022 at Assab One. Photo by Jonathan Mauloubier.

Tajimi Custom Tiles made their debut on the international stage at Milan Design Week 2022 with one hell of a show. Two years after the Japanese brand’s launch in 2020, they presented a series of objects by renowned designers Max Lamb and Kwangho Lee, alongside unveiling a new collaboration with Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

The exhibition, curated by creative director David Glaettli, was held in a beautiful industrial space in a former printing factory, Gallery Assab One, now an up-and-coming art space off the beaten track of Salone. The objects shown were conceived on the notion of tiles, brought to life through the techniques and imagination unique to the artisans of Tajimi. They moved beyond existing conventions, with the aim to offer a different perspective and demonstrate the vast possibilities for custom-made tiles.

Based in Tajimi, the home to more than 1300 years of ceramic history and tradition, Tajimi Custom Tiles create custom-tailored tiles catering to architects and designers globally. The variety of skills and techniques passed down through generations has become the local industries defining strength and led to the concept of “bespoke” finishes.

In Working Tile, Max Lamb intended to showcase what makes Tajimi such a unique manufacturing location. He designed a set of modular, 3-dimensional tiles that can achieve countless shapes, with objects assuming functions from vases, to sofas, tables, benches or partition walls. Max used typical clays with characteristic earthy materiality, and special glazes with ambiguous colours derived from classic Japanese tiles.

For this project, Seoul-based Kwangho Lee was inspired by one of the typical production methods in Tajimi—the clay extrusion. He created a module with a section in the form of a looped line, that can be extruded in different lengths in order to assume different functions. Titled Tide, the modules can be stacked horizontally or vertically to form various basic objects—like walls or benches. When the modules are aligned, the repeated loop with its almost hand-drawn quality, creates patterns reminiscent of knitted fabric. “Knitting” has been an important theme in Lee’s work, which he often used in different materials and on diverse scales. With tiles, this creates references to the varying states of clay, from very soft in the making to very hard in the finished piece.

Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec created a series of vase-like objects whose parts are made using the special method of clay extrusion typical for the tile production in Tajimi. Geometrical elements are attached to a cylindrical body to create compositions of geometric forms and colours and glazes. “Tajimi is like a candy store full of different flavours, in yellow, brown, pink…” explains the duo. “Like a firework, it explodes with delights. It gives us indescribable pleasure to play around with them.” The harmonising, deep colours of the typically Japanese glazes are a tribute to the beauty of Japanese ceramics. The installation was completed with a large, tiled podium standing on elements made with the same extrusion technique.

Kwangho Lee, The Bouroulecs and Max Lamb for Tajimi Custom Tiles, on show at Milan Design Week 2022 at Assab One. Photo by Jonathan Mauloubier.

The Bouroulecs for Tajimi Custom Tiles. Photo courtesy of Studio Bouroullec.

The Bouroulecs for Tajimi Custom Tiles at Assab One. Photo by Jonathan Mauloubier.

[Images courtesy of Tajimi Custom Tiles. Photography by Jonathan Mauloubier and Kenta Hasegawa.]