Puisano le Moetsi oa Moralo
22 dipotso
After studying material engineering for my degree, my inclination to focus on Art has become stronger as I’ve always loved Art since I was a child.
Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
After studying material engineering for my degree, my inclination to focus on Art has become stronger as I’ve always loved Art since I was a child. So I explored art history in UK and started to study Graphic design while I was in US, followed by learning time-honored jewelry making techniques from a Japanese goldsmith before switching to CAD.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
MOMOKAMEI is a jewelry brand, owned by oraculart, a company that my husband and I started. I am in charge of designing and making Jewelries.
What is "design" for you?
Solution, Communication, (Self-) definition
What kinds of works do you like designing most?
I’d like to create works that are unique and truthful to my mind.
What was the first thing you designed for a company?
The memorial pendant for my daughters, which is composed of the Alphabets of their names.
What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
3D CAD is my platform technology that I frequently use. By blending the digital technologies with my knowledge of time-honored jewelry making techniques, I think I can assimilate digital figure into something unique.
What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
I feel passion when I design. It is very energy and time-consuming process and I also feel pain sometimes. But at the end of the day, I often realize how content the moment was when I focus on designing.
From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
To me, designers are someone who can help people to notice various beauties of the world.
When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
My last exhibition was held in February 2017. I’ll have another one in this July.
Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
My family strongly inspires my works. My twin daughters are four years old and their drawings attract me a lot as their works contain something unique and fundamental. On top of this, I get strong inspirations from my daily surroundings and try to assimilate into my jewelry by adding different angles.
How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
I intend to make my pieces by weaving daily feelings into something tangible with some personal tastes.
Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
I grew up in Japan and currently live in Tokyo. My works are product of transforming daily things into something unique in nature. In a sense, my works reflect Japanese culture to some extent but also they contain something universal that fit in our digitized and globalized world.
Can you talk a little about your design process?
I make very rough sketch first but also add many imitative words on it and it is indispensable part of my work. It’s like a roadmap that I always carry and it will navigate me towards the exact image that I had in my mind.
What is your "golden rule" in design?
Be original and truthful to my mind.
Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
Rhinoceros 5.0
Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
It really depends on the project. Luckily I make jewelry by using 3D CAD software, I can work anywhere as long as I have my laptop with me. In that sense, I think I've been efficient in my work.
How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
It really depends. So sometimes it just take a few weeks and sometimes a few months.
What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
How I usually come up with an idea of a new design.
What are your future plans? What is next for you?
I want to continue making jewelry as one of my lifelong works. Also my husband and I really like appreciating art very much. So our dream is to find a gallery space where we can exhibit my works and curate other works from start-up artists.
Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
I am fully in charge of designing of MOMOKAMEI.
Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
There are a few items under progress. Please visit my website http://momokamei.com
How can people contact you?
Please email me at info@momokamei.com
