MONO MAKERS PROGRAM

Find your next collaborator and develop new products

To stimulate collaboration between Japan and the Netherlands, NN Life and MONO JAPAN joined hands together to start up the new programme “MONO MAKERS PROGRAM (MMP)”. The focus of this programme is to create a new product for the European market, that embodies the quality of Dutch design and Japanese craftsmanship.

MMP on online platform MMM

About MONO MAKERS PROGRAM

Hands-on support for collaborations

Within the online platform, we host the “MONO MAKERS PROGRAM (MMP)” which will provide hands-on support for the collaboration between makers to create a new product. The members can seek a collaborator and communicate within the platform. When there is a mutual wish to collaborate between two parties, the pair can apply for this hands-on support program.

The focus of this program is to create a new product for the European market, that embodies the quality of Dutch design and Japanese craftsmanship. To achieve this goal, NN Life and MONO JAPAN will give hands-on support to the selected pair for one year, until the end of March 2025.

MONO MAKERS PROGRAM is co-organized by NN Life Insurance Company.

Apply for MONO MAKERS PROGRAM 2024

We are excited to announce the continuation of our project initiated last year, with the launch of the 2024 edition this year. This project will once again unite Dutch designers and Japanese makers to create exceptional and innovative products that reflect the rich creativity and distinct visions of both cultures.

The online platform MONO MAKERS MEET (MMM) is a free community where Dutch creators and professionals such as Japanese manufacturing companies and craftsmen can meet. If you wish to find a collaborator and apply to the MONO MAKERS PROGRAM, you must first become an MMM member.

Become a member of MMM

Program Schedule

Application period
Monday, 1 April 2024 (from 16:00 in Japan / from 9:00 in The Netherlands)) - Wednesday, 15 May 2024

Announcement of the selected pair
end of June 2024

Hands-on support period
mid-June 2024 – end of March 2025

*The selection committee of the program will discuss and consider all applicants and projects. Selected pairs will be announced on this website. The committee will not provide each applicant with any comments, reviews or reasons concerning the application.

Know before you apply

Who we are looking for
1 creative pair consisting of a designer based in the Netherlands and a maker based in Japan

What we offer
We will select one creative pair, who will be provided with our hands-on support. When selected for this program, the pair will meet online and further develop their plan (June – August 2024). The Japanese party will then, accompanied by other Japanese members of the MMM community, visit the Netherlands. The pair will meet each other in person during the MONO JAPAN fair, where they give a presentation and attend our network meeting for all the members of MMM. The pair will collaborate from October 2024 until March 2025 to develop new products.

Program Period
April 1, 2024 – March, 2025

Application Requirements
Make sure you read the requirement details.

Application Requirements

MMP 2023

Collaboration between Mae Engelgeer & Yohei Oue

The first application was closed in June 2023. The Dutch designer Mae Engelgeer (Studio Mae Engelgeer) and the Japanese washi distributor Yohei Oue (Oue co.) together won the first prize, and Boaz Cohen (BCXSY) and Hirofumi Fujii (Kiribako manufacturer Masuda Kiribako) won the special jury prize. Both pairs convinced the jury that they are meaningful and fruitful matches. To facilitate their collaboration, we were supporting the creators till the end of March 2024. Not only Yohei Oue from Oue co., the winner of the first prize, but also Hirofumi Fujii was invited to the study tour in the Netherlands hosted by the NN Life, as well as to the MONO JAPAN fair in September.

There are several articles about the process of their collaboration, read further from the button below for articles.

Organisers

NN Life Insurance Company
Since the start of Japan operations in 1986 as the first European life insurance company in Japan, NN Life Insurance Company has been providing products and services to maintain and preserve the value of small-to-medium sized companies. As part of our support for the next generation, we are implementing a program to assist the successors and young managers who will be the future of Japan’s small and medium-sized companies, Our “Family Business Innovation Lab” program is being co-hosted with two local NPOs.

Japan Cultural Exchange
Japan Cultural Exchange (JCE) is the owner of the MONO JAPAN fair and the web shop MONO SHOP. The first MONO JAPAN Fair took place in 2016 in the Lloyd Hotel Amsterdam. Since then, more than 70 Japanese participants have exhibited their works with our support, most of them for the first time in Europe, and numerous collaborations between Japan and the Netherlands were born. In November 2019, the owner of JCE established an NPO “Stichting MONO JAPAN” to organize cultural activities and to separate these activities from the MONO JAPAN fair.