Japanese craftsmanship is cutting edge when it comes to kitchen knives. Chef Douglas Chang’s new Vancouver store Ai & Om Knives supplies the city with quality sharp-edged tools for the food and woodworking communities.
Chang, a native Canadian, has worked in kitchens all around North America, but it was in New York where he first began to value the art of tools and hand-crafted knives, learning from a Japanese sharpening master. He spent time in Japan with knife companies and blacksmiths and developed relationships with craftsmen, who inherited their skills through generations of forefathers.
The clean-cut knives have a rustic edge
The knives still retain evidence of the natural forging process used, for example, hammer marks on more rustic knives, where they have not been ground to a smooth finish, to others that retain a kurouchi or ‘blacksmiths’ finish that protects the carbon steel blades from rusting and being exposed. The interior architecture, designed by Scott & Scott Architects, functions as a clean, simple and natural space that both exhibits and stores the selected products. It unites both the knives’ Japanese heritage and celebrates locally sourced materials.
The primary use of yellow cedar, sourced in Vancouver Island, deliberately refers to hinoki wood, a material that in Japan has a history of use in temples and shrines. It is through clean-cut architecture and a superb inventory that Ai & Om Knives claims its place as Vancouver’s Blade Runner.
The knives retain evidence of the natural forging process
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Ai & Om Knives website and the Scott & Scott Architects website
-
One to watch: Manchester’s Youth Studio comes of ageWith a new Cotswolds retreat unveiled and a ten-year anniversary approaching, British interior design outfit Youth Studio is sharpening its focus — and catching our attention
-
15 years of Assemble, the community-driven British architecture collectiveRich in information and visuals, 'Assemble: Building Collective' is a new book celebrating the Turner Prize-winning architecture collective, its community-driven hits and its challenges
-
Emma Corrin on their fresh venture into fragrance with Miu MiuItalian fashion house Miu Miu partners with the actor on new fragrance Miutine which captures the scent of changing seasons. Beauty writer Hannah Tindle speaks with Corrin on their blossoming collaboration
-
Get back to basics with these low-fi and long-lived kitchen toolsFed up with the perennial pairing and needy notifications from too many smart devices? Discard digital and go all-analogue with our essential selection of battery-free kitchen tools and accessories
-
Febal Casa’s ‘Onda’ kitchen island and sideboard with Zaha Hadid Architects ripple with possibilityArchitectural fluidity and manufacturing excellence meet in a next-wave furniture collection
-
These extraordinary materials make kitchens and bathrooms blissfulFrom tactile Volcanic Limestone bathtubs to fine fireclay sinks and exquisite brass taps and fixtures, matchless materials define House of Rohl and its collection of luxury brands
-
Possi’s modular kitchens work in every spaceDanish brand Possi makes its debut with modular kitchens that bypass the limitations of traditional kitchen design
-
Hot stuff: Ghetto Gastro’s kitchen appliances for CruxBronx-based culinary collective Ghetto Gastro has created a collection of kitchen appliances for New York kitchenware brand Crux, featuring air fryers, a grill, a toaster, and waffle and coffee makers in two colourways
-
Reform and Jean Nouvel unveil luminous kitchen designReform has collaborated with architect Jean Nouvel on a playful and practical new kitchen, with steel surfaces that catch the light
-
The latest sensational kitchen design ideas to inspire your home renovationThese are the kitchen trends for 2022: from wooden cabinets to smart kitchen tools, expressive marble and colourful kitchens to inspire your home renovation
-
Vipp presents a new modular kitchen design in stone and oakThe Danish company’s second kitchen design, the V2 kitchen by Vipp features a timeless, modular design in a new organic material palette
