Edible glue, crayons that draw on any surface and a stool that turns into an easel are among the unconventional craft equipment developed by Tokyo children's brand Woset for the next generation of artists and designers.
Woset's stationery and furniture, currently on show as part of a pop-up at the Isetan department store in Shinjuku, is wholly made in Japan with a purposefully minimal "greige" look that diverges from traditional kids' products.
Woset makes art supplies and furniture for children
"It's pared back so you don't have to be pared back," explained designer Brad Holdgrafer, who co-founded the company with his wife Jenna. "You can do whatever you want with it: you can colour it, you can break it, you can smash it, you can rip it." "That sense of responsibility builds creative confidence, which is really what we hope to do as much as possible," he continued.
Among its products is a giant XXL sketchbook
The Holdgrafers, also known as the husband-and-wife duo behind LA design store Formerly Yes, founded Woset after moving to Tokyo with their children Leo and Georgia in 2022.
While the furniture was designed by prominent studios including Keiji Ashizawa Design, Waka Waka and Torafu Architects, the ideas behind the products are based on the couple's own observations of their children ? and how their creative process differs from that of adults.
Woset's giant sketchbook ? almost the size of a doorway when unfolded ? was informed b...