Craftal

Craft Tableware for Craftal

Craftal is a subscription service that provides Japanese craft tableware to restaurants and households, fostering a new environment where people can meet a wide variety of traditional crafts from all over Japan. By connecting artisans and end users, the goal is to create more touchpoints for people to use Japanese traditional crafts in restaurants and in their daily lives. Through this platform, craftsmen develop products better suited for the market through user feedback, and restauranteurs and other users help sustain the traditional tableware industry in Japan for the future.

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Download Press Kit № 139328 Craft Tableware for Craftal by TAKUYA HOTTA to access high-res images, essential texts, translations, and exclusive interviews—all in one.

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Craftal by TAKUYA HOTTA

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Craft Tableware by TAKUYA HOTTA

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TAKUYA HOTTA Craftal

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TAKUYA HOTTA Craft Tableware

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CraftalBrand Logo

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Craftal Craft Tableware Press Releases

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Craftal Craft Tableware Media Articles

We provide articles ready for publication on Craftal, offered in several languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Hindi, Arabic (Standard), Korean, Japanese, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin), Indonesian, Turkish, Dutch, Portuguese and Italian.

Unique Properties

Craftal is a subscription service that provides Japanese craft tableware to restaurants and households, fostering a new environment where people can meet a wide variety of traditional crafts from all over Japan. This platform to solve these issues faced by both the restaurant side and the craftsmen, and we have now we started working directly with chefs to develop highly usable tableware products by incorporating their feedback and experiences.

Tags

Japanese traditional craft industry, Japanese tableware, subscription service, craftsmanship, Japanese craft, circular economy, sustainability, craftal

Production Technology

​​Craftal’s business model was designed to solve problems faced by both craftsmen who make tableware and the restaurants who use them. For craftsmen, it is difficult for them to sell expensive products, but it is difficult for them to expand their craft if they only make pieces that can be sold cheaply. For restauranteurs, buying a wide variety of tableware is expensive, especially because they have to rotate it seasonally to pair with changing dishes depending on the time of year.

Design Challenge

When Craftal was first launched, COVID-19 infections began to spread around the world in early 2020. Since our initial target, which consisted of restaurants that were negatively impacted by this, we had a difficult time promoting the service. Our response was to start a B2C service targeting individual households and we were able to increase awareness of the service this way. Also, we tried to appeal to a larger group of customers, and realised there was a need from restaurants specialising in Western cuisine, which we did not foresee as our initial focus on just Japanese restaurants.

Project Duration

The service was first established in June 2019 in Tokyo as a B2B platform connecting restauranteurs and craftsmen in Japan and is still continuing to this day. Targeting individual households, the B2C service was launched in May 2020 to address people spending more time at home due to the spread of COVID-19 infection.

Operation Flow

1. Users select 30 tableware pieces from the physical gallery or online catalog. Specially tailor-fit selections based on consultations by a curator is also available. 2. Once inventory is confirmed at the distribution center, the tableware will be sent to the restaurant for an initial trial period of three months. 3. After three months, the customer will either exchange or return the tableware pieces, and those returned will undergo maintenance at the distribution center before being sent to use at another restaurant.

Research

We conducted interviews with numerous hotels and restaurants and found that for restauranteurs, they wanted to purchase a wide variety of tableware to pair with seasonal menus, but there were three main barriers to this: 1) price, 2) storage, 3) opportunity cost (ie. time spent researching and purchasing). Also, we learned that there are many levels of middlemen, which means that craftsmen cannot directly get feedback from the restauranteurs, affecting standards for product development.

Inspiration

The Japanese traditional craft industry is facing problems such as declining sales, labor shortage, product development, and lack of ability to develop sales channels in each process from production to sales due to the division of labor. On the other hand, although there is a need for restaurants to use traditional crafts, there are not many opportunities to purchase them because of the time and cost involved. This service was created in the process of thinking of ways to solve such problems.

Project Overview

Craftal Craft Tableware has been a Bronze winner in the Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design award category in the year 2021 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

Image Credits

For design images and photos please credit TAKUYA HOTTA.

Bronze Recognition

TAKUYA HOTTA was recognized with the coveted Bronze A' Design Award in 2022, a testament to excellence of their work Craftal Craft Tableware.

TAKUYA HOTTA Press Releases

Journalists and media members can enrich their content with our press releases on TAKUYA HOTTA, available for free use. Unlock 1 press releases now, directly accessible to journalists.

Craftal: Revitalizing Japanese Craft Tableware

Craftal, a subscription service providing Japanese craft tableware, is revolutionizing the traditional craft industry by connecting artisans and end users.

TAKUYA HOTTA Newsroom

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