[Kai Brand Co., Ltd.] “KAI Hat & Head-piece Competition 2024” Miwako Kawachi’s “nature” wins the grand prize
Kai Brand Co., Ltd. Press release: November 8, 2024 “KAI Hat & Head-piece Competition 2024” Miwako Kawachi’s “nature” won the grand prize French National Best Craftsman Hat & Head-piece designer Nobuki Hizume holds the grand prize award ceremony at Shibuya Sakura Stage 4F 404 Not Found > Global cutlery manufacturer KAI Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President and COO: Hiroaki Endo) will hold the “KAI Hat & Head-piece Competition 2024 Grand Prize Award Ceremony” on Friday, November 8th. ” was held at Shibuya Sakura Stage 4F 404 Not Found. The grand prize went to Miwako Kawachi’s “nature.” Additionally, we would like to inform you that Ryoma Senzu’s “Cokage Hat” was selected for the Special Jury Award.
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hat/headpiece design contest sponsored by Kai, a global cutlery manufacturer with over 40 years of history in the development and manufacturing of sewing scissors. The judges include Hat & Head piece designer Nobuki Hizume, who holds the title of France’s Best Craftsman, and Ryo Kurihara, CEO of Kurihara Co., Ltd., who works as a washi paper designer at the washi workshop “Riku”. Starting in 2022, we will be holding a hat design contest inviting Yukari Sato of Nakano. In 2024, which marks the third year, we will be soliciting works under the theme of “Origin of Hat.” 15 designs will be selected from the submitted designs and will be presented on August 10th, “Hat Day.” This was announced as an award of excellence. The winners of the Excellence Award had their hats produced based on their design drawings, and at this event, we announced the Grand Prize and the Special Jury Award. The Grand Prize went to Miwako Kawachi’s “Nature,” and the Special Jury Prize went to Ryoma Senzu’s “Cokage Hat.” In addition, the works that won the Grand Prize, the Special Jury Award, and the Excellence Award will be selected for the “Sharpness” competition, which will be held at Shibuya Sakura Stage 4F 404 Not Found from Saturday, November 9th to Thursday, November 14th, 2024. It will be exhibited at the “Tenderness Exhibition”.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/25105/597/25105-597-4b2591998812d80cee5351baa203bba1-542×444.jpg ■“KAI Hat & Head-piece Competition 2024 Grand Prize Award Ceremony” Event Overview November 8, 2024 (Friday) 14:00~ Shibuya Sakura Stage 4F 404 Not Found (4F, 1-1 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) Kai Corporation President Hiroaki Endo / Kai Corporation CMO Suzuki / Mr. Nobuki Hizume (Hat & Head piece designer) / Mr. Ryo Kurihara (President, Kurihara Co., Ltd.) / Mr. Yukari Sato (Japanese paper designer) ・Greetings from Hiroaki Endo, President of Kaiin Co., Ltd. ・Introducing “KAI Hat & Head-piece Competition” ・“KAI Hat & Head-piece Competition 2024 Grand Prize Award Ceremony” ・Photo session Greetings from Hiroaki Endo, President and COO of Kaiin Co., Ltd. First, he explained about the Kai Group, which celebrates its 116th anniversary this year, and said that it values the “wild blacksmith spirit” of interacting with each customer, thinking carefully, and creating products. He also talked about the sewing scissors “O” that he developed together with Kai, which has been manufacturing sewing scissors for nearly 40 years, and Hat & Head-piece designer Hizume, and during the development process, the topic of this contest arose. We announced that the event will be held. This year, with new judging criteria, the number of applicants increased by 190% compared to last year, with applications coming from six countries.We will continue to work hard to ensure that this contest continues for five to ten years. , I told them that I would like to work with everyone to enliven the fashion and hat industry. “KAI Hat & Head-piece Competition 2024” Grand Prize Winner Announcement The Grand Prize went to Miwako Kawachi’s work “Nature,” and the Special Jury Award went to Ryoma Senzu’s work “Cokage Hat.” First, we received comments on the Special Jury Award from Kai Suzuki and Mr. Sato. Ta. Suzuki said, “I thought it was amazing that this work was made of 400 layers of actual leaves, and that they expressed it as a hat.The enthusiasm for the hat and the delicacy of the work were very good.”, Sato. said, “It’s a very simple shape, but by bleaching real plants, it has a translucent finish, which is wonderful.It has a calm, wabi-sabi atmosphere that I thought was very nice.” Thank you for your comment. Next, the grand prize winner was announced, and the winner, Mr. Kawachi, was presented with a shield and sewing scissors “O”. Mr. Hizume said, “Mr. Kawachi was a finalist in 2023, and I was as happy as if it were my own work to see that all the hard work he had put together had taken shape.This work was created by a person who has been making hats for many years. There are many delicate techniques that only people can understand, and I’m glad that they were able to translate the design drawings into form.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/25105/597/25105-597-551ecd303d77dfc1a232c9efe834dbd9-1384×440.jpg Mr. Kurihara also said, “I thought it was amazing from the moment I saw the design drawings.I was impressed by how faithfully the design and concept had been incorporated into the work, and how perfect it was when worn as a hat.” Personally, I was happy that someone involved in the hat industry had won this award for the first time, and I felt that it gave courage and hope to those who are aspiring to become craftsmen in the future.” I did.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/25105/597/25105-597-6140aae52bb4b243dddeb817ee19f4d7-696×310.jpg “KAI Hat & Head-piece Competition 2024” Excellence Award Winners (Title omitted, in no particular order)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/25105/597/25105-597-32072356c8955ebb0d98119c281edbe5-978×1231.png Grand Prize Judging Committee Judging for the Grand Prize and Special Jury Award was held at the Kai Corporation headquarters at the end of October. Four judges examined each work one by one.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/25105/597/25105-597-90863d9fc1ba981508a58d9b4c69e92a-936×446.jpg Kaiin speaker profile Hiroaki Endo Kaiin Co., Ltd. and Kai Industries Co., Ltd. Representative Director, President, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Joined the company after graduating from Keio University’s Faculty of Economics in 2008. Returned for 14 years after being seconded to KAI Industries Co., Ltd. in the production department and overseas affiliated company KAI U.S.A. LTD. He has served as Deputy General Manager of the Domestic Sales Headquarters and Corporate Management Headquarters, and General Manager of the three core divisions of the group: Business Strategy Headquarters, Marketing Headquarters, and Research and Development Headquarters. After serving as director and vice president, on May 25, 2021, he was appointed representative director, president, and chief operating officer (COO) of Kai Industries Co., Ltd. Image Suzu Thursday (judge) While serving as CMO at global cutlery manufacturer Kai, he also serves as CCO at Great Works, a Swedish creative company. In recent years, as a creative director, he has been producing expressions and corporate promotions both domestically and internationally, as well as directing the video for actor Mari Natsuki’s performance “PLAY x PRAY” and executive director of “Shibuya SAUNAS” by manga artist Katsuki Tanaka. He is active in a wide range of activities, including serving as an advisor. In 2019, he was selected as one of Forbes Japan’s “39 Designers Who Will Change the World” and in 2021, he was also selected as Nikkei’s “Marketer of the Year 2021.”
