TheFirstSixMonths: Marukami's extensions- Fashionable literature

I'm often inclined to believe (and not alone in that) that Haruki Murakami blurs the distinction between dreams and reality. At times I re-read parts in books or passages just to marvel how anyone could describe things in such intricate living details. I picked my first Murakami book accidentally when I was 'dance' influenced. And it read 'dance, dance, dance'. Post that, one friend was going to Japan, and I politely indicated my interest in knowing if the Dolphin hotel really existed. I tried to do the same when I landed in Japan a couple years later. I'd probably still do that. And to think that I can't even read the original Japanese, aber a mere translation!

In a February end of year Werkschau, in the local (and famous) design school, I walked by a design which coincidentally quoted dance, dance, dance. It didn't take much for me to realise this was special. I reached out to the designer, who had the most interesting things to share. Here's more in conversation with Yumiko Nishibori, because talented people are inspirational :-)

Warning: Long post with pictures, but isn't editing beauty a listed crime?

Q TFSM: We noticed that you have a psychology background before studying design. We thought that was interesting. How does it help in the design process?
Yumiko: I'm still interested in Psychology and I like thinking about some issues in a psychological and philosophical way. But I haven't yet put any psychological issues into my design in purpose. I always try to think about my concept very deeply and in doing so it maybe helps me for I'm familiar to some psychological terms and phenomena.

Q TFSM:  How did the Murakami inspiration come about? How do you feel about your interpretation now after designing the line?
Yumiko: I have been reading Murakami since I was 14 and I've read his work ever since over and over again, but I never get bored. I discover hidden corners in his stories or I read the stories from a different point of view. No other novelist had influenced me so much than Murakami. So it was quite obvious that I chose Murakami as a part of my thesis. I  like the result very much. It's my personal interpretation of Murakami. So I was happy as many Murakami-readers liked my work. For me, it was the best compliment I could ever get. 

More- http://yumikonishibori.foliohd.com/

Q TFSM: How do you combine the cultural influences of Japan and German languages/ culture in your design?

Yumiko: I guess it happens automatically though I usually don't mean to put something Japanese in my design. In the past, I thought I'm more German than Japanese because I've grown up in Germany. But in the meantime I have been always linked to current Japanese culture such as music, TV-shows, Manga, etc. Besides, I had read Murakami only in Japanese before and as I tried to read his work in German (because I had to write my thesis in German) - I have to confess - it felt quite strange. I also notice that I'm thinking Japanese in some cases then switching to German, then to Japanese again, and so on. I guess I'm still very ambiguous in matters of my cultural identity. 

I would always wonder how artists would be so liberal, and creative and be able to use different mediums for expression. Just interacting with Yumiko and re-reading his thoughts made me realise, how beautiful it is to be able to extend interesting personal settings and influences into work and make the process and the output remarkable.