London Design Fair

Kodai Iwamoto at London Design Fair

If you visited Material of the Year at London Design Fair during LDF 2018, there was one stand that was consistently surrounded by a crowd of amazed faces. Tokyo-based designer Kodai Iwamoto was the man responsible for the hypnotised scrum, as he demonstrated the unexpected making process behind his recycled flower vases. Heating PVC piping (the sort used in plumbing jobs), Kodai then created his bulbous forms by blowing them up with air, just like a traditional glassblower. Kodai was one of four designers involved in Material of the Year: Plastic, Beyond the Chipper, which showcased innovative projects using recycled and reimagined plastics. His was a method so incredible we couldn’t wait to capture it on camera as part of a series of three films made for London Design Fair.