dinner in ny

The term dinner refers to the main meal in a day. Consumption of food is an essential element of life as sleeping is for a human being. Most of the people who know the importance of eating habits care about the quality of food and nutrition. However, even if the food provides the necessary nutrition, that alone is not enough. The question is, what is a quality dinner? Having dinner is not just about eating food, but portrays many aspects of our lives.

A study in Public Health Nutrition which compiles data relating to American’s food-related time use over the past 30 years reveals some interesting trends: Eating as a primary activity declined in the past 30 years. On the other hand, eating as a secondary activity rose dramatically in the past 30 years. When we combine the primary and secondary eating time, we see that we’re spending an average of 25 or more minutes in total daily than we did 30 years ago. We now do almost 50 percent of our eating food consumption while concentrating on something else.

The spread of Internet, computers and cell phones in recent years has given people many methods of communication, and dinner has lost its original essence as an occasion to socialize with others. The changes in society, as well as the people who form them have lead to a shift in how we spend our dinner time.

However, I would like to make myself clear. I have no intent on saying that having dinner with a cell phone is bad and eating alone is sad. My idea of this project is to propose what dinner is to people, how different it can be for everyone, and present the diversity found in this everyday act. When you enjoy mealtimes, you’re more likely to eat better. Needless to say, how people enjoy the many aspects of our lives, including dinner time, depends solely on that person.
Let’s think what we can do to enhance the pleasure of the table.

new york

interior

shokunin – japanese artisans’ spirit

Growing up in Japan and being raised by a designer mother, I had the opportunities to meet craftsmen and use their products from a very young age.
Unfortunately as a child, I did not appreciate how important it was to cherish their crafts and keep using them year after year. Especially in our current era of mass production and disposal, we are increasingly prone to simply pursue cheap, readily accessible products and discard them once they break. And we will continue to see cheap, so-so quality products as long as ‘the race for the bottom’ continues around the globe. This is certainly bad news for the craftsmen who spend their entire life producing quality products, hoping that whoever buys their crafts will take good care of their art as it attains its uniqueness through use and age.
Japanese craftsmanship is by far one of the best in the world. I stand by this word with confidence, but the reality is that their skills and culture are losing its ground day by day. I had to come up with a way to revive the crafts that I care for, because the craftsmen care for their crafts. And so, I embarked upon a new project that reveals the little known stories of the masters behind my culture.
Special thanks to:
  • Kei Condo, a ceramicist in Ibaraki, Japan
  • Teppei Tsutsui, a blacksmith in Ibaraki, Japan
  • Sugahara Studio, a glassware manufacture in Chiba-prefecture, Japan
  • Katrin Reifeiss, a Brooklyn-based Shibori artist
  • n + a new york, a jewelry brand in Tribeca, NY
  • Shino Takeda, a ceramicist in Brooklyn, NY

landscape / cityscape

lifestyle

bolivia

pearl of africa

still moment

We usually pass over valuable moments in our daily life since we’re driven by busy days.
I believe “Still Moments” that we often overlook in our daily life mean something that fundamental for our life.


GALLERY No.

1

Liz & christopher

GALLERY No.

3

mary & tim