Join artist and metalworker Kathleen Reilly in conversation with Japan House London Director of Programming (and the curator ofBiology of Metal: Metal Craftsmanship in Tsubame-Sanjo exhibition), Simon Wright, to discuss the evolution of her award-winning knife design, Oku. The discussion will explore the Japanese influences behind the design, the future of the product and Reilly’s career. During the talk, audiences can see samples and prototypes ofOku, demonstrating the design and production process, and there will be the opportunity to ask questions at the end.

In 2018 Kathleen Reilly visited Japan House London’s Biology of Metal: Metal Craftsmanship in Tsubame-Sanjo exhibition held as part of the London Design Festival. That exhibition inspired Kathleen to move to Japan to study Japanese metalworking traditions and techniques with a scholarship funded by Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. During her study, Kathleen created Oku – an innovative butter knife design that would go on to win Dezeen Award in 2022. Produced in collaboration with craftspeople in Tsubame-Sanjo, Oku is being launched on the first day of London Design Festival six years later.

Coinciding with London Design Festival and for a limited time only, guests to Japan House London’s Ground Floor can explore a selection of metal objects featured previously in the Biology of Metal exhibition. These include hoes and ‘magic metal’ from the Tsubame-Sanjo area of Japan’s northern prefecture of Niigata, famous for its metalworking.
Oku will also be available for purchase at the Japan House London Shop.

About the speaker

Kathleen Reilly

Kathleen Reilly is a Scottish artist and metalworker with over ten years of experience whilst living in the UK and Japan. She graduated from The Glasgow School of Art Silversmithing & Jewellery department in 2015 and completed her Masters in Jewellery & Metal at the Royal College of Art in 2018. Her journey creating Oku began in 2018 when she visited the ‘Biology of Metal: Metal Craftsmanship in Tsubame-Sanjo‘ exhibition at Japan House London and discovered the skills of their craftspeople. In 2019, she moved to Japan on the Daiwa Scholarship. From 2020-2022, she trained with artisans in the Tsubame-Sanjo and developed Oku, which won Dezeen Awards Homeware design of the year in 2022.