Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Aero Concept's Keiichi Sugano interview



There's a interview today on the wonderful Japanese site PingMag Make with Keiichi Sugano who made a brief case for himself that others are begging for. The product line is called Aero Concept.

A couple of quotes are in order and then check it out for yourself if you're intrigued.

That’s why although I get plenty of orders for the Aero Concept, I turn down requests from big trading firms. For example, the sound it makes when you close the case. I spent half a year working on that. I wanted to get close to the sound of the shutter of a Barnack-era Leica camera. Those guys don’t figure that in to the value of a product. But sound is important.

and

How can I make something as beautiful as possible, how can I make it without any gaps. Thinking about how to solve those problems is a kind of philosophy. When I was still in training, one of my mentors told me to go outside and polish the car. So I was outside polishing it and he came and yelled at me, saying, “What are you doing? That’s not what I call polishing!” Polishing a car is a way to learn about the making of a car. You’ve got to notice that as you polish. “This part is this shape, that part is like that, all because of the thoughts and feelings of the person who made it.”


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