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Mixcomembers: Alex Garnett, British. Nahoko Koyama, Japanese. studio location: U.K. MIXKO is design partnership formed by Goldsmiths College graduates Nahoko Koyama and Alexander Garnett. Both had their work selected by the British Council during Milan Furniture Fair 2003, and featured in influential magazines whilst undergraduates. Since then they have continued to earn critical acclaim for their creations at various international design events. MIXKO aims to provide a range of products that are both stylish and practical. Nahoko and Alex are continually seeking fresh design ideas to meet various everyday needs with original thinking. Their objective is to create items that have a wide appeal, inspire happiness and possess a satisfying simplicity. profiles After her childhood in Tokyo, Nahoko Koyama spent 5 years studying in London, Berlin and Bangkok, specialising in eco-design. Her outstanding promise was recognized in 2001 when she won the Goldsmiths Student of the year Award. She has gained second prize at the Tokyo Designers Block competition in two consecutive years for her 'Unite Light' (2003) and 'Delight' (2004). Nahoko's Delight was listed the 8th best Ethical Homeware by The Independent (2007). Alex Garnett enjoys subverting everyday items and playing with scale to produce humorous, visually striking work. Alex's work aims to restore the sex appeal of boring items. His 'Electric Chair' design was runner-up in the national Corus competition in 2002. Alex's 'FUNkey' has exhibited with both the British and German Design Councils in 2003 and 2004. Alex received a 'development award' from the Crafts Council in 2006. In 2007, MIXKO will be unveiling several new products which they hope will add to their early successes and develop their concepts further. alex's statement I believe that if people walk around galleries on a Sunday looking bored, art has failed. I am neither of the 'art for arts sake' crowd, or purely a commercial designer. I aim to entertain and inspire happiness with my work in a way that is accessible and unpretentious. Whilst working at a model makers I developed an unhealthy fascination with the many props and items I found, seeing life in them above and beyond their everyday purpose. From giant teeth to miniature nuclear reactors, endless and eclectic – I found hundreds of fascinating objects. I went on to sharpened my production skills working on props and exhibits for clients such as Gucci and YSL. My early work 'The Electric Chair' (a giant, electrical plug that functioned as a chair) made the final of the CORUS Design competition (2002) and was featured in 'Blueprint' Magazine (January 2003). It was the first piece in a whole series of 'experiments with the ordinary' in which I took everyday items and made drastic changes in scale and function. Ordinary, overlooked objects fascinate me. With humor and personality I aim to challenge the ways we use and regard the everyday things around us, subverting what exists into something new. I select objects for their iconic status (or lack of) and their potential plastic power – their form and graphic qualities. The production of my work can be highly time consuming which is a contrast to how instantly it can be received. Producing is often meditative but sometimes painfully dull and even stressful. I become self-absorbed, paying scrupulous attention to details, with little compromise. My aim is to not put myself, as the maker, into the object - but to use the significance of the object itself to affect the viewer.
exhibitions and showcases 07 Dec – 'Three White Walls', Birmingham
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