fugu is the japanese word for blow or puffer fish and it also lends it’s name to fugu fugu press, a letter press company run by married couple ken (the machinery guy and piano player) and shino (the illustrator). besides producing great work (click here for their latest work from nss ’09), they also have a wonderful home in altadena, california. they lived together 10 years in a great old apartment, but this is the first home the couple has owned.  it’s more modern than their last place, which they love, but moving also was the perfect excuse to de-clutter and start fresh. they’ve only been moved in since last april and have a lot of projects yet to conquer, but life keeps them busy.  don’t miss additional images here. [thanks shino + ken!] -anne

[above: My art desk is also in the kitchen. The prints above the desk are by Kiyoshi Nakazawa. The clock was purchased at a great store in L.A., called OK.]

The dining room set was a wedding gift from our friends who moved to Italy. They also gave us the lamp on the stereo. The old stereo was a hand-me-down from my old roommate, Uyen – the turntable needs some work but the radio works, and it’s really fun to listen to it through the vintage speakers. The prints above are by Hatch Show Prints.  The frames are from IKEA.

A print by Tadahiro Uesugi.  The Iranian placemat was purchased by Ken’s mother when they used to live there. . . On the other side of the dining room, there is a little nook which used to be an ‘upgrade’ feature of these houses that were built in the area.  It’s an indoor bbq (how 50′s!).  The vent is closed off now, so no grilling the skewers in dining room for us.  We’ve collected and received as gifts a few vases over the years, and this seemed to be a great place to display some of them.  The silkscreen is by Nathan Ota.

We got this bed frame at a furniture store in Pasadena called Dwell.  It has nothing to do with the magazine.  The pillows on the bed were made by our friend Kimiko, using re-purposed fabric.  The print above the bed was done by another friend, Luther Gerlach, who specializes in working with large format vintage cameras and methods.  The lamps are antiques that we got from yet another friend who used to have a vintage furniture shop, and the dresser is from IKEA.  We made the wooden boxes last year for the stationery show as display shelves, and now we use them as night stands.  Morgan the pitbull mix is from a shelter in Pasadena.

On another IKEA dresser: My illustration which was done for L.A. Weekly.  A ceramic dog purchased years ago.  A knitted dog by Lara Newsom.

The biggest reason we love this house is the pool and the view.  On a really clear day we can see all the way to Catalina island, but that only happens a handful days a year!  Lanterns are from IKEA.

The couch is from Restoration Hardware, table is from IKEA, and the rug is by Peace Industry which was a floor sample at Design Within Reach.

Tweet