Initially designed to help Japan’s Umino Seaweed Shop increase sales after the 2011 Tsunami, the designer nori, which uses a thicker type of seaweed from from the Sanriku area of Miyagi, is now featured in ‘Katagami Style’ an exhibit of 19th century Japanese stencil artwork, at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo. The series of intricately laser-cut seaweed for rolling sushi comes in sheets of various designs: ‘sakura’ (cherry blossoms), ‘mizutama’ (water drops), ‘asanoha’ (hemp), ‘kikkou’ (turtle shell) and ‘kumikkou’ (tortoise shell) and are based on an element of Japanese history or symbology, meant to bring beauty, good fortune, growth, happiness, and longevity.
The laser-cut nori has been credited to agency I&S BBDO Tokyo but the actual laser-cutting is now being outsourced elsewhere. The project won the 2012 best of show Design Lotus for promotional materials at Adfest in Thailand. The pieces themselves are available for sale only through the retail location (#5261 Isohama-cho, Oarai, IBARAKI, JAPAN) for the price of 840 yen (approximately 10 $USD) each. In the future, Umino hopes to produce the nori on a larger scale and at lower cost. For more information, visit also the link below.
