D-Torso cardboard papercrafts a hit in Japan

Written by: Michael Keferl on August 2, 2007 at 3:21 am | In Fashion & Lifestyle Trends |

UPDATE: JapanTrendShop now carries the D Torso Chihuahua papercraft kit.

Created by Japanese designer Yuki Matsuoka, D-Torso products are stylish cardboard items now becoming popular for the mainstream in Japan. Using laser cutting, all of the pieces are designed by computer and cut to exact specifications to be put together by the user. They’ve been around for some years now, though primarily in the original D-Torso mannequin models, but are finding a large audience with the “pet” series.

Shaped like various animals such as dogs, cats, and pigs, the new colored editions of the pet series have found their way into design-oriented shops all over Tokyo. The Shin Marunouchi branch of the lifestyle store Idea Seventh Sense alone sells an average of 1000 pieces per month to customers, and we just happened to stop by the Tokyu department store in Kichijoji just as they were setting up their first display two weeks ago. Having a girlfriend with two rambunctious dachshunds, I was obliged to get at least one for ¥1260 ($10.50), and it took about thirty minutes to put together.

Along with the new pets, D-Torso also makes some really cool (and hopefully sturdy) shelves. They aren’t featured on their website, but we saw them in a feature that the Nikkei Marketing Journal did on their recent success. Other lifestyle products include various shapes of table and even a cardboard wine bottle holder!

While simple, these creations actually look much nicer than one would assume cardboard products could, and compliment a modern house setting quite well.

Tags: DIY, Papercraft
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends