Last year, I visited Japan and attended Tokyo Design Week. In light of our team’s recent whirlwind to the States, I should not complain of being unable to visit Tokyo Design Week 2009 that opened last Friday. However, I would like to extend my congratulations to Swedish Style 10th anniversary in Tokyo.

Being a dual Swedish-Australian citizen with Asian origin, my heart takes an extra beat when creativity is busting across international borders and continents. Swedish Style in Tokyo celebrates 10 years of successful exchange between Sweden and Japan in business, culture and lifestyle. Swedish Love Stories was the overall theme this year with exchange of ideas and open doors to a more sustainable urban lifestyle. Artists and designers with their non-linear and creative thinking have a vital role to play within Fashion, Film, Photography, Design, Art, Music and Food – new innovative thinking is refreshing.

Sustainability continued to be in focus with design lectures within the field as well as handprinted eco-friendly T-shirts, vintage design and “slow design” among the work shops. In an era of mass-consumption and -production, we often hear about “slow food vs fast food” and this thinking may also be applied to the design industry.

One of the main events organised by Swedish Style during Tokyo Design Week 2009 was “Blond Buddhas” at Komyoji Temple with a group exhibition by young Swedish creators Defyra, Aia Jüdes, Åsa Jungnelius, Monica Förster and Simon Fagéus, showing cutting edge art, crafts and “slow design” in collaboration with Kosta Boda.

Komyoji temple is a small Buddhist temple in central Tokyo and on display were works inspired by – and mixing elements from – both Swedish and Japanese culture, modern as well as traditional. All the particpants have been to Japan before and have some sort of relationship with its culture. For the 10th Anniversary, they felt an urge to honour and summarize past impressions and experiences by settling in a calmer, more spiritual place that encourages people to meet on a deeper level such as a temple – what a great idea of creative space!

With sustainability as an important topic, it was an underlaying theme in various ways throughout the exhibition; some artists had chosen to work with organic materials, some with aim to preserve old handicraft techniques and small, local production methods, others integrated the theme on a more philosophical and spiritual level in their artwork. Visitors were also welcome to join on-going work shops held daily by some of the participating artists.

If you enjoyed this feature, you may want to Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for our latest style updates, giveaways and other juicy stuff.

Yen Huynh, Creator of mecho | the style black book

Discover More Stylish features below:

• Yotel, inspired by Japanese capsule hotels
• Nissan Cube 2009
• Top 10 Creative Spaces 2009
• KDDI au Design project – Future of Mobile Phones