Local Heroes: Design To Take With You

Local Heroes are back this summer with more joyful design commissions. Created in collaboration with V&A Dundee, each commission is designed to be the perfect souvenir to remember a great day out. The project builds on the success of last year’s collection which featured a sold-out series of beach towels and a range of wildflower seeds exclusive to V&A Dundee’s shop and website. The beach towels have now been restocked and the wildflower illustrations transformed into prints.

So let us introduce you to what’s new for 2022. This year our focus is on sustainability and consideration for the environment. When we visit Scotland’s beauty spots we are encouraged to ‘leave no trace’ and this new collection helps to make that possible with a range that celebrates ‘design to take with you’. Scotland’s first design museum was designed by a leading Japanese architect, Kengo Kuma, so this summer we were inspired to produce our own collection of furoshiki [pronounced fu-rosh-ki]. Our large and small soft silk-cotton furoshiki have multiple uses and are perfectly portable. Furoshiki are very popular in Japan where they are used to wrap gifts and shopping, hung as artworks to brighten interiors and worn as scarves and bags.

Perfect for carrying and wrapping, furoshiki are a great choice for your next shopping trip or a zero-waste trip to the beach. We’ve commissioned one Japanese designer based in Tokyo and one Scottish designer based in Edinburgh to create designs that honour friendship, conviviality and being outdoors.

Manami Sakurai creates textiles that connect to people's feelings and nostalgic memories. Her hand-drawn images illustrate experiences from her everyday life and are rooted in the concept of "sending a message of peace". Manami has designed Daytripper – a large furoshiki inspired by her childhood memories of day trips with her family.

“We would go into forests or hills with our sketchbooks and sketch what we saw. For me, the idea of a day trip is good memories and fun discoveries, and I wanted to convey these feelings through this design.”

In addition, Manami’s smaller furoshiki The Ordinary Day depicts a playful scene featuring a cat among some summer strawberries and ribbons.

“In my everyday life, I gather my thoughts by seeing different kinds of art, reading books, watching movies and chatting with my friends. Then I start to draw to create designs that have a gentle message. I love hand drawing lines and I believe that free floating lines hold the warm personal touch. I use a variety of drawing and painting tools depending on my mood. I hope my colourful textiles can fill your day with joy and a nostalgic feeling.”

She studied fashion and textiles at Central Saint Martins and gained her experience as a textile designer in the UK, India and Japan. In 2019 she started MANAMI SAKURAI within the Taito Designers Village atelier.

Ellen Martin is based in Edinburgh and specialises in printed and dyed textiles. She spent four months studying in Kyoto learning traditional Japanese textile techniques which continue to inform and inspire her approach to design today.

She has created two new designs for our furoshiki range. The large design is called Maple which are known as kaede (frog's hands), as well as momiji, which means both ‘become crimson leaves’ and ‘baby's hands’.

“I lived in Japan during the spring and summer so didn’t get to see the spectacle of the maple trees changing colour, however there are some that are red all year round.”

Ellen’s smaller sized furoshiki is titled Omikuji. This design depicts the paper fortunes found at temples and shrines in Japan. Omikuji are often folded and tied to trees or on rows of wires in the temple or shrine grounds.

“Having only launched my design business two years ago, I feel privileged to have the support of Local Heroes and V&A Dundee. Creating bespoke designs for V&A Dundee has been a joy and I can’t wait to see the finished pieces for sale in Scotland’s design museum!”

With a focus on hand-drawing, collage and repeat pattern, her work captures the details found in her surroundings, often when visiting new places. After graduating from GSA in 2020, she launched her first collection of printed silk scarves.

The designs will be available to buy in V&A Dundee. Their new retail manager Erin Thompson is enthusiastic about the project. “I am so excited to be a part of this project having read all about it last year before joining V&A Dundee. Working together, our focus has been on how to make these wonderful items as locally, as sustainably and as cleverly as we possibly can, with zero wastage and ever mindful of our footprint. Daytrippers! genuinely is a ‘glocal’ project and a lovely way to welcome summer.”

Next month we will feature a specially commissioned picnic blanket for Daytrippers! by Camban Studio.

Join us for three weekends of special events at V&A Dundee during July and August. Check the Local Heroes instagram feed for dates and times
@localheroesdesign
@manami_sakurai_
@ellenmartintextiles