NUTS by DINAONE + CANUCH

A tile series named NUTS, manufactured by Japanese tile manufacturer DINAONE, is a tiny tile measuring 57mm x 27mm. The product is based on tiles originally designed by Tokyo-based design office CANUCH for the pastry shop Kamakura Beniya, designed in 2018.

When we asked about the shop’s design concept, Yosuke Kinoshita, director of CANUCH, said, “ We were commissioned to design this when they were in the process of rebranding. To express Beniya's identity, we focused our interior design on two things: relating their confections to space, and representing the locational characteristics of Kamakura. We also wanted to give our customers the impression that Beniya is a long-established, hand-made confectionery shop. Therefore, we planned a wall finished with tiles with the same texture as their signature sweets Kurumicco and asked DINAONE to create custom-made tiles.”

For the main shop of Kamakura Beniya in Kamakura designed by CANUCH, they installed custom-made tile like Beniya’s popular baked confections. photography: Hideki Makiguchi

He also said, “When the tiles were fired in the tunnel kiln, great care was taken to control the colour tone, as there are subtle differences in the degree of firing. We were short of time, but by visiting the factory to check the colour and texture, the experienced production team were able to produce a quality product on time.”

Afterwards, based on the small, baked pastry-sized tiles originally developed for Beniya, DINAONE fine-tuned the dimensions and shape to create a product named NUTS. Its small size is easy to install on curved walls and has a wide range of uses. It is available in ivory and black, in addition to the original orange.