Most people don’t think “cool” and “stylish” when they hear the words “metal works”. But Exit Metal Work Supply is just that. As a continuation of last week’s interview, we introduce another member of the Modern Manufacturers’ party, the founder of the party and president of Exit Metal Work Supply, Kaoru Shimizu.
Interview: Takafumi Suzuki, Hiroko Torigoe
Translation: Claire Tanaka
First of all, I’d like to hear how you came to establish the Modern Manufacturers’ Party.
When I’m meeting with clients, I often get asked, “Are you the designer, or the manufacturer?” and when I tell them “I’m both,” they often react by saying “That can’t be possible!” But I know a lot of people who both design and manufacture their own stuff. I thought if we could all get together in a sort of advocacy group, we could improve understanding for what we do and in turn our jobs would be easier.
So what kind of activities are you involved in, specifically?
We hold an annual exhibition, and we provide information through our website. Those are the two main things we do.
Inside the workshop
Inside the studio
Has anything changed since you formed the party and started putting out information via your website?
Yes. Personally, I’ve had to compete less and gotten a lot more commission work. We discuss things and if the estimate doesn’t fit the budget, then I can provide an alternative estimate without compromising on design. I don’t have to get caught up in trying to provide the cheapest estimate, and I no longer find myself pursuing work that isn’t a good fit for me.
So do you share information among the members in the party?
The way we cooperate with each other, it’s like a band. (laughs) A metalsmith in Aichi prefecture will do work for a metalsmith in Kanagawa prefecture. They’ll just discuss what kind of image they have over the phone, and then get the other to design it and make it themselves. It’s a matter of cooperation between two companies. It’s, it’s like a miracle. (laughs) We know each other’s backbone well and that’s how we can communicate without difficulty. We also outsource work that is outside our personal specialties to each other on a regular basis.
Did you also establish your own company with a similarly clear sense of purpose?
I went independent twelve years ago, and all I knew was that I wanted to have a stylish metalwork factory. The young people who came with me when I started the company were so fresh and gutsy, they had a real talent for design too, more than I expected. (laughs) Thanks to that, we wound up designing here and outsourcing the fabrication, which is an unusual pattern for a manufacturer. After that, I had several clients who were looking for a high level of quality in manufacturing and design, and that helped us to further improve our quality. There’s a certain strength in good design. That’s why while we are a metalwork shop first and foremost, we put a lot of importance on the act of design as well.
But, even if you’re doing fashionable stuff, surely there aren’t a lot of young people out there who want to get into metalwork?
For me, it was the only thing I ever wanted to do. (laughs) I grew up in Mukojima, an urban, old-fashioned neighborhood in Tokyo, and when I was in Junior High I had a job making holes in metal molds. That was when I decided, “This is how I am going to make my living, no doubt about it” (laughs)
First, draw the pattern
Then, bend the iron
The finished bent piece
Connect the pieces together for a beautiful pattern
So, after you left school, all you had in mind was to work in a metal works?
Yes. I graduated from high school and I did a stint at a metal works, and after I left I was just a drifter for two or three years and then one day I found a really cool looking store fixture in a furniture store called Idée, and I asked them to tell me the name of the company that made it. But when I went to see the company, they were suffering from the economic downturn at the time and they couldn’t hire me. While I was waiting for an opening, Idée made a workshop (in the research and development department) and they contacted me.
So did you learn to do your own design work during your time at Idée?
More than Idée, it was the influence of super-genius designer, Guy Hendrix Dyas, who used to be in and out of there. He graduated RCA (Royal College of Art) at the top of his class in two departments. He had an occasion to do some design at Idée, and at that time I was in charge of making his designs.
The details are exquisite!
An elegant curve
So, you worked together with him.
Yes. His dedication to his work is incredible. Every night, until around 2am he’d be by my side, “not like that, like this,” always watching. (laughs) After the project ended, he said “Shimizu, you should do design too. You’ve definitely got what it takes.” Up until then, I’d worked with world-class designers like Karim Rashid and Michael Young, and I’d thought I’d like to try designing something myself, but that part of me had atrophied. But those words from the super-genius gave me the impetus to give it a try.
So you got up and rode the wave, then.
I didn’t really think about it that hard. (laughs) I had a friend, a rock musician who used to play his guitar in front of the train station. When I went to ask him for some work advice, he told me something good. “What, I didn’t realize your job is so tough. Me, all I have to do is play some cool tunes on my guitar and people gather around me. If the songs are good, they’ll buy a CD. In my mind, there’s a path leading straight from little old Matsudo Station here to “Live at Budokan”.”
Shop Name: QUADROPHENI, Osaka, Interior design：Kazuya Sasaki (Small Clone), Metal work：Exit Metal Work Supply, Photo:Kozo Takayama (Tank)
What a cool thing to say.
I heard that, and I thought, what have I been doing up to now?! I’d been saying “I’m an acquaintance of so-n-so from such-n-such a place” using everything but using my own chops. I learned that it’s as simple as making one good, attractive thing at a time, and if that sells, then something is bound to come along. That’s why I tell my staff, “Design something cool, then make it.” Don’t ask me about what I (the president) do and don’t like. You want a boutique owner to buy it, so ask everyone you know if they think it’ll work. Then if it sells, good for you. We’re a small business, so I want everyone to take personal responsibility for their work.
That’s quite a simple approach.
I want to make manufacturing into a stylish, fun, creative thing. If you succeed in music or IT or finance, you’ve got it made, right? But you can also do that in manufacturing, an industry that many young people consider to be “dirty, difficult, and dangerous”. If I use words like “fashion” and “music” to describe what we do, it’s easier for people to get excited about the work. If more people got into this industry, that would be great.
Exit Metal Work Supply
Shiba 3-6-5, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Kaoru Shimizu
Born in Tokyo, in 1970. Metalsmith and designer.
President of Exit Metal Work Supply, and founder of the Modern Manufacturers’ Party.
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PingMag MAKE is the sister site to PingMag. We use an interview format to put the spotlight on a wide range of people active in rural areas. We document the voices of these unknown heroes and broadcast them to the world. It’s the Japan-based magazine about people and making things, coming out once a week. We’re passing on the passion, ideas, skills, and life stories of people who are building today and exploring tomorrow: craftsmen, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors. Stay tuned!
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