JUNE 1, 2023 / JOHNNY

It’s said that shutter speeds of around 1/1000th of a second are necessary to really capture the detail of moving water in photography. So you can imagine the technical challenge of accurately capturing water as a three-dimensional object. Product designer Masahiko Tanoue has dedicated the last several years of his career to just this: creating glass tableware that beautifully replicates not only the shape and form of water but the way its transparency refracts light.

Minanowa is a new brand of glass tableware that seeks to bring Japan’s ancient appreciation for the beauty of water, into the contemporary home. The design team, which includes artist and producer Kaori Kobino, product designer Masahiko Tanoue, glass sculptor Naoki Kimura and art director Shoko Wakasaki, have spent years experimenting with the properties of glass in order to replicate way water interacts with light.[…]

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