January 24th (Sat) 11:30 - 12:30
Lecture 01:
Creative Collaboration in the MONO MAKERS PROGRAM: A Mid-Project Report
Location: Nieuwe Instituut
Free entry
No pre-booking required
The MONO MAKERS PROGRAM (MMP) is a Dutch-Japanese creative collaboration initiative run by MONO JAPAN in partnership with NN Life Insurance Japan. Launched in 2023, this program facilitates the meeting and collaboration between Japanese manufacturing professionals and Dutch designers through MONO JAPAN's online platform, MONO MAKERS MEET (MMM). As a result of our ongoing collaboration support that began in 2023, we were able to present the outcomes of our efforts as a cultural project connecting Japan and the Netherlands at Expo 2025 Osaka.
Now in its third year, the project features a Grand Prix pairing between Samira Boon, a designer with extensive experience both in Japan and abroad who maintains bases in both countries, and Kojima Orimono, a Kyoto-based company with a nearly 100-year history in producing woven wallpaper and fusuma paper. Since June, the pair has been working together in collaboration.
The Runner-up pair consists of Lena Winterink, a textile designer based in Amsterdam, and SHOBIEN KYOTO, a Kyoto-based maker known for Roketsuzome (wax-resist dyeing) textiles and Noren curtains. Together, they are exploring the creation of products that blend traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design.
Join us for a mid-project report, where we will explore the potential outcomes and innovative synergy between the creative pairs Samira Boon and Erika Kojima, and Lena Winterink and Ousuke Kanbayashi, as they approach the completion of their collaboration in March 2026.
Speakers
Make it
Samira Boon
Founder and designer of Studio Samira Boon, architect. Born in the Netherlands in 1974. After completing her master’s degree at Delft University of Technology, she spent one and a half years at the Department of Architecture, Tokyo Institute of Technology, as a research fellow of the Japanese Ministry of Education in 2002. She established STUDIO SAMIRA BOON, where she not only creates original products and textiles but also undertakes interior and architecture-related commissions. Her designs are sold in Europe, Japan, Canada, and the United States (including at MoMA, New York).
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.