“Inspirations for DIY Gift” is a serial article series by Yoshikazu Eri, one of our very first writer intern members. By this project, he aims to widen possibilities and choices of DIY gifts.
When you buy a book, what makes you “triggered” to do so? Friend’s recommendation? Found at a book store? Book review on the web? Or recommended by web stores?
Thanks to the Internet, you can click and purchase without even walking out from your house. Or, you still can visit a book store and see the actual book for making decisions. But personally, I prefer to buy it from friend’s recommendation than machines. Maybe the internet still lacks the “warmth.”
Let me introduce one unique group in Japan, “book pick orchestra“. They bring a new way of encountering books for people. Can you imagine buying books without even knowing the title and author? By this group’s creation, maybe you will. And it’s a great idea for gifting as well.
Chance to meet with books – book pick orchestra
Established in June 2003 by 3 men; Yohei Kawakami, Shintaro Uchinuma, Cyotaro Takashima, “book pick orchestra” produces book’s planning, selling, and organize a workshop to propose a new way of meeting with books.
The concept on the website goes,
“book pick orchestra” seeks the new way and produce a wonderful chance for people to meet with books. So that we can increase the “life with books”.
Book Pick Orchestra
Sending books like a postcard
One creation that I especially love is named “Bunkobon-Hagaki”. “Bunkobon” is a small-format paperback books with size of A6(4.1″×5.8″), and “hagaki” means “postcard” in Japanese. Can you imagine what this is like? Let’s take a look.
With its vertical long shape and 7 boxes at the top for filling the Zip Code, what most Japanese people have in their mind by seeing this, is a postcard. And uniquely, what you find inside is a book. But all you can see is a quote from the book. This is what “book pick orchestra” creates as a new chance of meeting with books.
For example, you find a quote like this,
“If you remember me, then I don’t care if everyone else forgets.”
This quote comes from the book “Kafka on the Shore” by Haruki Murakami, the most memorable book in my life so far. Imagine finding this book not from the title or author, but from this impressive quote. You will be having a different reading experience. Especially if the quote fits to your feelings.
No title and author’s name, just one impressive quote!
It doesn’t need to be a book, you can extend this idea to clothes, jewelry, stationery, audio CD and etc. What matters the most is not its market value, but your personal feelings. By adding this, you can change ordinary things into warm-hearted gifts.
What would you hide and show for gifting to your close friends or family?
[Text by Yoshikazu Eri]
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