Hiroyuki OKAMI : POTPURRI

“Usability in a microwave was essential. Life with the elaborate art of Japan is what Mr.Hiroyuki Okami aimed for.”

“I baked them one by one, for my shop.” Mr.Okami says, pointing to the breathtaking green tiles covering the outer wall of his shop. The clear green tiles glitter in the sun, alike the river running through this town.

He first came to know pottery when he entered the pottery club in university. Though his major was law, he became so obsessed in pottery that he wanted to make a living on it. However, a single potter had limits to the number he can produce. The outcome was that he would be chased by work and would not be able to enjoy the creating, or else he would be unable to deliver his work to all the people who wished to have it. He didn’t won’t either of that.

That was when he heard about Stig Lindberg, a ceramic art designer. Lindberg did the designing, and another team did the mass producing, and that way he delivered his art world-widely. Mr.Okami knew that was what he wanted. He considered working in Sweden, Lindberg’s hometown, but people told him to stay in Japan, where technical skills and structures were stable. He worked for 5 years in a ceramic maker in Mino, Gifu prefecture, one of Japan’s leading production area of ceramic, then went on his own.
He founded “POTPURRI”, designing in Tokyo and producing in Gifu.

He opened a shop in Kiyosumi-shirakawa in the Autumn of 2016. “The best thing is that I can get feedbacks from my customers” he says. For instance, he never knew that “the lid of this pot is a bit difficult to lift” until he heard it from a customer who used it daily. These feedbacks are making arts of POTPURRI yet more attractive.

As the next step, he is considering oversea exporting. His goal is to make works that will be used in Europe, especially in Sweden, the origin of his lifework. “I want to introduce the elaborate and beautiful art of Japan to the world.” Mr.Okami says. However, he does not want to press the “made in Japan products.” Rather, he wants people to one day realize, that what they have been using everyday was all made in Japan. That is his idea.

Company and Showroom Informations

ADDRESS: 1F 2-1-2 Shirakawa, Koto, Tokyo, Japan
OPEN: 11:00am-7:00pm *irregular holidays
URL: http://www.potpurri.co.jp/
☎︎ +81 3-6659-9401