InteriorLust: Masanori Oji

I wish I could blame autumn for my recent fascination with brass but that's not the only reason I've been craving the warmth and energy of this wonderfully hued material. Something about brass feels so earthy yet modern, polished yet industrial and I kind of wish a owned a house so I could start replacing all its hardware with lots of brass. It's got a certain kind of cool factor, no?

The lovely pieces above are by Japanese designer Masanori Oji. I discovered his work through my Mjolk stalking last week and have been drooling over these designs ever since. I love the simplicity and the execution of each piece and how the choice of metal just brings everything alive with a soft shimmer and glow.

1. Paperweights

2. Bottle openers (yes, really! Have you ever seen a bottle opener look this classy?)

3. Pendant lights



All images are from Oji and Design. 

Brass Lovelies

This past spring, I took a jewellery course at the Harbourfront Centre here in Toronto. I've taken their craft courses before and have always found them to be informative and fun. This one, Introduction to Jewellery, was way more involved than I thought it was going to be (there is some serious machinery needed for jewellery making!) and I was thrilled to have had the experience.

Both of my projects were made in brass. The ring was a flat band that I pounded, soldered into shape and polished the heck out of it. I made the cuff first out of molding wax and had it sent off for casting. Once that piece came back, I filed it and polished it.

It was awesome to work on something, creating it out of such seemingly hard materials and shaping it to suit. My instructor Heather Rathbun was also pretty awesome - check out her work here.