Press Release
Brilliant Olive Glass Tableware by Keiji Ishikawa Wins the Silver A' Design Award in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
Keiji Ishikawa honored for bakeware, tableware, drinkware and cookware design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ Brilliant Olive Glass Tableware by Keiji Ishikawa, designed for KJ studio, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Silver A' Design Award Means
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
About Brilliant Olive Glass Tableware
The design of the olive branch symbolizes enduring vitality as a representation of peace, wisdom, and prosperity. The leaves are arranged in alternating pairs along the branch, creating a spiraling pattern that signifies growth. Some leaf pairs resemble hearts, evoking warmth and peace. Gradient olives add a mystical touch, with the leaves and olives laid out like puzzle pieces. From the side, the overlapping leaves form a complex motif. When viewed from above and filled with a beverage, the inner leaf patterns reflect, creating a shimmering, lifelike design.
About Keiji Ishikawa
After spending five years in Tokyo learning the traditional Japanese glass-cutting technique "Kiriko," a designer moved to Tokushima to establish his cutting-edge studio in 2019. His creations include a wide range of daily items, such as glasses, dishes, and lampshades, all featuring original designs that aim to bring a sense of calm and joy to people's lives. Recently, he has been interested in glassblowing and is producing exceptional multilayered glasses that showcase his unique sensitivity and creativity.
Award Record
With this recognition, Keiji Ishikawa is a winner of 5 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2020 - 2021 to 2024 - 2025 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Award
The A' Kitchenware Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good kitchenware designs by best kitchenware brands and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to kitchenware designers, product designers, industrial design studios and kitchenware brands from all countries. Entries typically include pots, pans, cutlery, plates, bowls and glasses. Awarded kitchenware designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/kitchenware
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/168643
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/168643
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!168643
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/275476
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Brilliant Olive Glass Tableware
- Function
- Glass Tableware
- Category
- Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home and Food & Hospitality
- Colors
- Midnight Blue, Maroon, Saddle Brown, Slate Blue and Dark Slate Blue
- Images
- 5
- Client
- KJ studio
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Keiji Ishikawa
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #168643
Credits
- Image Credits
- Video Credits: The glass is rotated to show the changing scenes in a video to depict the intricate and sparkling pattern that seems to be imbued with life from the olive leaves above.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The olive, a symbol of peace, wisdom, and prosperity, is elegantly crafted in Kiriko glass. The design features olive branches with pairs of leaves arranged alternately in a spiral pattern, evoking a sense of growth. Some leaves are heart-shaped, representing warmth and tranquility. Gradient-colored olives reflect humble intelligence. The leaves and fruits are arranged like jigsaw puzzle pieces, enhancing their lively appearance when light passes through. This creates a shimmering effect, resembling living olive leaves, even when viewed from above as a drink is poured.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by the serene olive groves of Shodoshima, renowned for its olive production in Japan. Olive trees, revered as symbols of peace, wisdom, and prosperity, have been interwoven with human life from ancient times to the present. Striving to capture the enduring vitality and wisdom that nature embodies, the foundational concept of the design was meticulously crafted.
- Research
- Custom-cutting wheels for olive leaves have been implemented. Additionally, wide wheels express the fantastic gradient of olives, requiring precise adjustment of the contact point with the glass during cutting. Advanced techniques are essential in cases where the glass is dark and difficult to see.
- Challenge
- Specially ordered wide-angle V-cut grinding wheels are introduced. Additionally, precisely applying wheels to the contact points with glass has been practiced and mastered.
- Realization and Technology
- The double-layered glassware is carefully ground and polished by hand using Japanese Kiriko cut glass technology.
- Operation and Interaction
- The wide-angle V-cut olive leaf pattern creates an intricate, mesmerizing design when viewed from the glass's side. The pattern on the reverse side overlaps with the front, evoking the mystery of life. As shown in optional image #2, when a drink is poured and viewed from the top, the inner olive leaf pattern reflects each other, resulting in a complex, shimmering design as if the olive leaves have come to life.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in August 2024 in Tokushima, Japan, and finished in January 2025.
- Specifications
- The product dimensions are as follows: The sake glass is 60mm in diameter and 70mm in height in the main image. In optional image #1, the wine glass is 58mm in diameter and 150mm in height, and the sake cup is 60mm in diameter and 60mm in height. The top view of the sake cup is shown in optional image #2. In optional image #3, the rock glass is 77mm in diameter and 92mm in height. Finally, in optional image #4, the plate is 150mm in diameter and 33mm in height.
- Keywords
- kiriko, cutglass, japaneseglassware, glassart
