They started working in Germany in 1985, and established the company in 1990 in Berlin. After seven years in Germany, they returned to Japan and established the Japanese company in 1992.
Their seven years of experience in a completely different culture gave them the neutral perspective to reconsider the true value of Japan, the country where they were born and raised.
In 1997, we opened our first Time & Style store in Tokyo and began full-scale manufacturing in Japan to offer our own products directly to customers. Many traditional industries remain throughout Japan, and we have manufactured high quality products in our partner workshops across the country.
They established their own factory in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, in 2008 for a new style of detailed and careful Japanese manufacturing.
Additionally, in 2012, they opened a showroom in Shanghai, China, and their own store in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in March 2017.
We think it is important is to reconsider unique traditional Japanese culture and acquire wisdom about living and craft based on the beliefs that have been accumulated by many of our forerunners. We would like to utilize the assets gained through the acquisition of such wisdom in the design and manufacturing of new products in light of our modern everyday lives to convey this beautiful and subtle manufacturing craft to Japan and the rest of the world.
They offer different kinds of tools that are necessary in their daily lives, such as furniture (their main product), lighting equipment, tableware, and towels, covering a wide range of products from small teacups to tables.
They are all original products created from the consistent concept of our company. With the fusion of modern lifestyle with the traditional aesthetics of Japan as a theme, they are pursuing a comprehensive quality that is meant to be used over generations, such as universality that is not affected by the changing times, receptiveness to blend into their daily lives, and functionality as a living tool.
In the stores, they learned the significance of creativity by displaying modern art. They are also trying to integrate classic and modern elements by introducing their traditional art Bonsai into their interior space. They create contemporary living space where the past and future are linked by a variety of elements.
Their products have a pleasant sense of tension within a simple form, and are achieved through the faithful handiwork of Japanese artisans. The appearance of each product is not always in Japanese style. However, these carefully and thoughtfully designed and sincerely created products definitely have a certain presence.
Although they may appear neutral and neither Japanese nor Western, the small details and dignified air that surrounds the products give off a genuine taste of Japan. In Japan, many artisans all over the country have acquired advanced skills that were passed down over a long period of time.
They continue to accept the challenge of creating a new tradition of monozukuri with like-minded artisans in the different regions of Japan.
Few words about their designers …
Time & Style creates design on the basis of Japanese history, lifestyle, and unique aesthetics embracing a sense of beauty of life, as well as interior design developed from a unique point of view.
Jean-Marie Massaud
Born in Toulouse, France in 1966, Jean Marie Massaud was a child fascinated by science, who dreamt of becoming an inventor. He graduated from ENSCI in Paris in 1990. During his academic years, he found it was the beauty of first intuition that amazed him in the process of invention. He then started to collaborate with Marc Berthier, who had a great influence on him.
Jean-Marie Massaud discovered the intimate link between design and architecture, relating to similar implications in the creation of our environment and of our life experience.
Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP
Hiroshi Nakamura is born in Tokyo in 1974 and has spent his teen years in Kamakura and Kanazawa. He is graduated from the Graduate School of Science and Technology of Meiji University in 1999 with his master degree in Architecture.
After the graduation, he has joined Kengo Kuma & Associates. In 2002, he established Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP.
Nakamura believes that all design should respect the local climate, topography, culture, industry, and more importantly, the behaviors and feelings of the people who live there.
Daisuke Kitagawa
“Work by hand, then efface all traces.”
This phrase captures a concept at the heart of all Mr. Kitagawa’s products.
From appliances that fit in hand to furniture that forms a space, all his products share the quality of dignified design polished to its utmost. At first, his work has an industrial feel seemingly bereft of human touch. He produces hypotheses from careful research, chooses the most suitable materials and structure, clearly grasps the client’s request, and generates a new approach.
However, unravel the origins and processes behind each product and a different story will emerge. There, clear for all to see, is Mr. Kitagawa’s passion for design alongside the technical skill and ingenuity of countless hands that bring physical form to his designs.
