A long overdue post on our ‘last’ product launch before the theme changes this week. Garrison was a brand I was introduced to at the Tokyo Gift Fair back in February.
After being introduced to different company directors who were all very formal and polite, it was quite refreshing to meet the passionate and rather eccentric Takahisa Funai-san, the designer and owner of Garrison. Garrison was established as an environmental innovation initiative by the designer in 2006 as a response to global warming and illegal domestic deforestation in Kochi Prefecture, Japan.
The company has since been using the thinned wood, hinoki ( light weight and germ-free Japanese cypress wood) cut out from the local forest ( in Nakatosa) and developed into a wide range of products under the principle of “Environment, Lifestyle and Corporate Social Responsibility”. A portion of the proceeds from each Garrison’s product is contributed towards the MoreTrees project, which was founded in 2007 by five founders including the internationally-renowed Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Being a fan of Sakamoto when I was a student, I was interested to find out more about the project. With the same goal as Garrison, the organisation also aims to prevent mass destruction of forests and improve carbon offset through various programmes, education and businesses in Japan and tropical regions abroad, and it is supported by over 100 people from various companies and industries.
Left: Samples being used by myself! Right: Some samples given to me at the gift fair by Takahisa-san
After my meeting with Takahisa-san, I was very moved by his passion and ethical values, so I decided to place an order with him and since he has no overseas vendour, it was a perfect opportunity for us too. After receiving a box of samples of various products from Japan, I ordered the bean coffee tray ( inspired by the shape of a coffee bean), the humourous Eiffel tower glasses stand and the fun 2 in 1 trivet and coaster set ( inspired by fairy tales).
If you want to learn more about Garrison’s products and the production journey, you can watch the video below: