MILAN — This summer designer duo Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu found themselves at the Noritake Garden in Nagoya, Japan, where they discovered the electrifying Japanese god of lightning, thunder, and storms, Raijin, who was captured by Noritake on an ancient porcelain plate conjuring a thunderous ceramic symphony. Similarly, Yabu Pushelberg is serving up its own power on a plate.
Thursday, Yabu Pushelberg, which is known for awe-inspiring designs like Paris‘ La Samaritaine shopping landmark and the towering Aman Residences in Tokyo, told WWD they will debut their very first tableware collection with Japanese tableware brand Noritake. It’s called Hoshikage, Japanese for “hidden star.”
However, it wasn’t in Japan that the name came to be. It was inspired by the sky above their beloved Hamptons home, when Yabu and Pushelberg, partners in work and life, took their guests to the rooftop of their beach house for a glimpse of the night sky.
To mark its 120th anniversary Noritake has introduced Noritake Design Collection, a collaborative initiative led by its chief creative director Yuichiro Hori, consisting of a series of collaborations with a global roster of contemporary designers, starting with Yabu Pushelberg.
Photographed at the home of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, Hoshikage by Yabu Pushelberg is part of the Noritake Design Collection.
Sean Davidson
The project very much epitomizes Yabu Pushelberg’s current energy. “We want our legacy to be that we lived our lives giving people examples to lead fearlessly, limitless lives filled with passion, joy and care. You don’t need to be as ambitious but live the best life you can,” said Pushelberg, who is of Japanese origins.
Their multidisciplinary design studio Yabu Pushelberg, based in Toronto and New York, has made a name for itself among retailers, hotels, restaurants, furniture and home decor brands for its commitment to solving problems in creative ways, conjuring nature’s calming effects and conveying a sense of longevity and emotion with every sinuous curve and ray of complimentary lighting. This year marks 45 years in business.
They splashed onto the global design scene at the turn of the Millennium with a revamp of Bergdorf Goodman‘s lower-level cosmetics floor in the late ’90s, when basement-level shopping was a raw concept.
“The integrity of their work is incredible,” said Pushelberg of the visit to the Noritake factories in Nagoya. “We noticed they use more bone than other plate makers, ensuring the highest quality base for their plates. Even more impressive was the number of craftsmen hand-painting each collection, many with decades of experience. Japanese culture hones in on perfecting details, and Noritake epitomizes this commitment. We spoke for hours with their team about their craft, their perspective.”
Bone china is normally made from china clay, china stone and or bone ash and is fired at a lower temperature than porcelain.
Like Pushelberg who grew up in Toronto, Noritake also has a Japanese American link. The company was incepted as a trading company that was established by the Morimura Brothers in New York in 1876. This trading company imported chinaware, curios, paper lanterns and other gift items. In 1904, the Noritake Company was officially established in the village of Noritake, a small suburb near Nagoya, Japan. The goal of this first factory was to create western-style dinnerware for export and remains as the go-to China for Japanese families and high-end clientele worldwide.
Capturing the beauty of the galaxies in everyday dining, the collection comprises a 19-piece set of dining, salad and bread plates, bowls and mugs.
Photographed at the home of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, Hoshikage by Yabu Pushelberg is part of the Noritake Design Collection.
Sean Davidson
“This collection transforms meals into moments of astral connection, reminding us of the magic that exists both in the universe and on our dining tables,” Pushelberg said.
“It felt right to us for our first tableware collection to be with Noritake, a brand from Japan. It was a way to connect with my heritage and the art of making, using traditional techniques with a modern mindset to apply new ways of approaching how a table setting could be experienced,” Yabu explained, adding that the pair noticed that global culinary tastemakers like French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten had recently embraced deep, rich toned plates, which compliment food in a different, unique way.
“Not every artist works with a blank white canvas — why would we? We took a calculated risk to create something that could resonate in a more modern way, embracing dimensional thinking,” he remarked.
