Offices Delrosso Milan Ormezzano spa

Milan Design week 2015
The artisan of dreams and mineral nanotechnology

Misoka, the nanotechnological toothbrush, at Milan Design Week 2015
Location: Officina 2 - Opificio 31, via Tortona 31

date: April 14th-19th 2015 from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
press preview: April 13th from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

TORTONA night: April 16th until midnight

Japanese designer Kosho Ueshima - The Industrial Design Studio – is to present Misoka — a toothbrush used just with water and without toothpaste — at Milan Design Week 2015. The project arose through collaboration with the company Yumeshokunin Co. LTD in Osaka, which entrusts the development of its products to mineral nanotechnology.

Yumeshokunin - “the artisan of dreams” in Japanese - combines skilled craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology, with the idea of “conveying emotion throughout the world”.
Misoka:_nanotechnology,_mineral_ions_and_(pure)_water'>Misoka: nanotechnology, mineral ions and (pure) water

The objects that make use of nanotechnology are characterised by sizes in the vicinity of a billionth of a meter. In fact, the bristles of the Misoka toothbrush are coated in nanosized mineral ions. While brushing, the ions move in the water and pass from the bristles onto the teeth, removing stains, coating them and keeping them clean and shiny all day. Unlike traditional bristles, the Misoka bristles taper at the ends to better clean and massage the interdental areas. Even without toothpaste, your teeth stay as shiny and clean as though you just walked out of a teeth-cleaning session at the dentist's. The expression Misoka in Japanese means “last day of the month” and the toothbrush should be replaced every month, the period after which it deteriorates and loses its effectiveness. Misoka also derives from the word Misogi which means “purify body and spirit with pure water”. If brushing your teeth with the Misoka means using the energy of the minerals – observed Kosho Ueshima during the design phase - then this gesture is equivalent to merely brushing with water. A new way of brushing your teeth has been created.

A new water brushing concept

The Misoka has been available on the Japanese and Asian markets since 2007, with two million of the first generation model already sold. Now the Misoka will make its debut in Europe and in the other countries for Milan Design Week 2015, with a new project by Kosho Ueshima (TIDS), who has completely redesigned it. Misoka's new sleek and fluid shape is inspired by the form of water — a fluid substance par excellence — and is made of a plastic material (PET: polyethylene  terephthalate).

The Misoka is presented at Milan Design Week 2015 inside Water Fountain, an evocative installation that makes it the leading figure in a scenario played out entirely around the theme of water. Kosho got the famous designers Setsu and Shinobu Ito involved in the construction. Drawing inspiration from the Japanese Zen garden, the two designers designed the Izumi stone fountain and Konoha stone seats, made by Grassi Pietre, who is a partner in the event. Setsu & Shinobu Ito designed Eda toothbrush holder too, made from cast aluminium by Fonderia Artistica Campagner.
Press Office Map Design Communication tel. [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

“My uniqueness is not having uniqueness”. Kosho Ueshima

Kosho Ueshima was born in Fukui, in Japan, in 1979. After graduating from Tama Art University in 2003, he took part in various industrial design projects both in the field of electronics (Panasonic) and in product design (German design Agency, yellow design gmbh). He has received a number of international design prizes, such as the Red Dot Design Award and The Design Award in Germany. In 2015 he founded TIDS-The Industrial Design Studio in Tokyo and Taiwan. To Kosho “not having uniqueness” means not leaving a personal mark on the products designed by TIDS, but instead giving shape to the technology or company philosophy, transforming them into design objects. One of the designer's strong points is that he observes and extracts the less visible characteristics of the project to give even the most complex aspects an attractive form. Every detail is an expression of its function. Ueshima worked as project manager from 2011 to 2014 for the German studio yellow design, (where he developed the Emura2 project for Daikin). In Italy he worked internally as a designer for Panasonic, collaborating for three months with Setsu and Shinobu Ito on developing a project for an air-conditioner for the Italian market.

Yumeshokunin, the artisan of dreams

Yumeshokunin, the company set up in Osaka by Japanese craftsman Yohei Tsuji in 2007, means “the artisan of dreams” in Japanese. Its vision is to “convey emotion throughout the world”. Yumeshokunin develops and manufactures objects based on nano-mineral technology, with the intention of creating products that are not merely the result of mechanical processes, but rather the product of human energy. It is thus able to ensure high quality and endorse products made in Japan. The Misoka is its debut product, two million of which have been sold worldwide since 2007.

Setsu & Shinobu Ito, Studio Ito Design

Together in Milan since 1997, Japanese designers Setsu and Shinobu Ito are among the most famous couples in contemporary design. With a long list of clients and international awards, their work spans all fields and scales of design, combining their respective personalities and natural tendencies with Japanese and Italian traditions in a conception of design that welcomes a slower pace of life. With equal attention to technology and craftsmanship, from the very beginning of their journey, they have addressed — through objects, packaging, furniture and spaces — a more sensitive contact with the inner essence of humankind’s nature. They work for international brands such as Riva1920, Gruppo Euromobil, Guzzini, Lavazza, Canon, Panasonic (Japan), Sony music group, Nava, Richard Ginori.
IZUMI fountain - Grassi Pietre, designed by Setsu & Shinobu Ito
IZUMI in Japanese means natural spring. From this spring, located at the centre of the fountain, water gushes forth until it reaches the edge of the stone surface. Seen from above, the fountain is square, static and minimal, but as we move towards its base the shapes smooth out. The base, with its grooves traced in the sand at regular intervals, is a reference to a Zen garden, which is tied in turn to another natural element: earth.

IZUMI is suitable for installation outdoors, but also in public or private interiors.
KONOHA seat - Grassi Pietre, designed by Setsu & Shinobu Ito
KONOHA, meaning 'leaf' in Japanese, is a curvy, sinuous chair which, despite being made of stone, appears to flutter in the wind. The wind, like the water in the fountain and the earth in the Zen garden, alludes to another natural element: air. In fact, KONOHA's unique shape allows it to rest on all its sides, thus creating different surfaces for sitting.
An Italian brand of Vicenza stone set up in 1880, Grassi Pietre has been working in the industry for four generations. In its historic headquarters in Nanto (Vicenza), it carries out projects using this ancient material from its quarries, combining new technologies and innovative machinery with artisan know-how.
EDA toothbrush holder - Fonderia Artistica Campagner, designed by Setsu & Shinobu Ito

EDA is a toothbrush holder specially designed for Misoka, the nanotechnological toothbrush (designed by Kosho Ueshima). Made from cast aluminium, it takes on slightly different forms when resting on its short side (40 mm) or its long side (50 mm). Its "branches" are 34 mm in diameter
Event partner: Grassi Pietre and Fonderia Artistica Campagner

Press partner : www.designpress.info
www.misoka.jp/salone2015/

www.yumeshokunin.jp

www.tids.co.jp
Press Office Map Design Communication tel. [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]