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Mentsen

@mentsen

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London based studio of Yasuyuki Sakurai & Risa Sano
somewhere between craft and industrial design
Graphic design & art direction 👉 @tent.sen

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Little Tova step stool available on our online shop along with other home accessories made by us.
Currently we have 2 stools left in stock from the recent batch. Made using British grown ash, finished with green wood wax. by @mentsen

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12 days ago

MASS dining chairs in black linen webbing.

MASS range is made in our SE London workshop to order. We’ve recently finished dining chairs in black linen webbing as a part of a private commission.

We have enough black webbing left for up to 3 more chairs if anyone is interested. Be in touch to order or to specify in your interior project. Natural line is also available. by @mentsen

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18 days ago

Tobali — ichimatsu (chequer)
2026
aluminium, washi paper, LED
450w x 150d x 850-1500h mm + suspension wires max 2M
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Tobali is a group of suspension light made with aluminum frames housing a LED strip, with a sheet of washi paper as a diffuser.

With a simple tension grip, frames can move up and down to adjust the aperture and volume of the piece, which alters the way the light reflects to the diffuser.
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For the Sense of Place exhibition, we experimented with the Japanese technique of strengthening the paper by applying the konnyaku (Amorphophallus konjac) starch paste on the paper diffusers.

The paste saturated sheet is then crumpled, and gently flattened to dry, transforming it to slightly stiffer but flexible and tactile. This alters the surface quality, and tiny subtle facets created from the process reflect and filter the illumination in more complex and richer ways than the smooth surface.

The folded crease lines also add visual rhythm, and giving the shade some structure.

With the decorations on the diffusers, very thin paper are painted with gold ink (silver ink on stripes, and fermented persimmon juice on dots), hand torn, and pasted onto the thicker sheet. The translucent quality of these additional paper interacts beautifully with both the natural light and the illumination, without overriding the poetic nature of the object. When it is not lit during the day, a very subtle golden shimmer entertains the eyes. by @mentsen

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a month ago

Tobali — shima (lines), suspension light
2026
aluminum, washi paper, LED
1600w x 150d x 300-400h mm + suspension wires 2m

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Tobali (帳 or 帷) is a Japanese word for a hanging curtain, veil, or room divider used in old architecture to conceal a space.

Today it is not common to see tobali as object in normal households, but the word is often used in a poetic expression for the transition between day and night, “yoru no tobali ga oriru” (夜のとばりが下りる) to mean “the curtain of night falls” comparing the arrival of night darkness to a heavy, dark veil slowly dropping from the sky.

It felt like a fitting word for this system.

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On show this week as a part of London Design Festival
Sense of Place @atelier_seventy_six
@l_d_f_official by @mentsen

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a month ago

A LITTLE SNEAK PEEK

Today, the doors open.

The house is ready.
The ceramics are in place.
The textiles are hanging.
The lights are on.
The sound is running.
The incense is burning.

Sense of Place brings together five creative practices across the rooms of Atelier Seventy Six, creating an exhibition to be experienced rather than simply looked at.

@amechi.mandi is TOUCH
@emmalouisepayne is TASTE
@mentsen is SIGHT
@omamori.ldn is SCENT
@studioaboveandbelow is SOUND

A house becoming a gallery, a gallery becoming a home, and an exhibition that moves between the two.

Opening tomorrow, Saturday 12 September.
76 Sussex Square
London W2 2SS
13:00–18:00 daily
12–20 September

Come and wander through.

#SenseOfPlace #AtelierSeventySix #LondonDesignFestival #LDF26 #SneakPeek SensoryDesign ContemporaryCraft LondonDesign DesignExhibition HouseAsGallery EmmaLouisePayne LondonDesignFestival2026 by @mentsen

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a month ago

Visit Sense of Place, an exhibition @atelier_seventy_six to see our new lighting system Tobali.

The show opens from today (Saturday 12th), and we will be at the installation ourselves on Monday 14th, Wednesday 16th and Saturday 19th — we’d love to show you around in person if you can visit one of these days.

Sense of Place
12-20 September 2026, opening hours 13.00-18.00
Atelier Seventy Six
76 Sussex Square, London W2 2SS

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Tobali is a group of suspension light made with aluminum frames housing a LED strip, with a sheet of washi paper as a diffuser.

With a simple grip, frames can move up and down to adjust the aperture and volume of the piece, which alters the way the light reflects to the diffuser.

Developed as an ambient interior light and in three sizes, Tobali could act like an illuminated painting on the wall above the bed, or hang over the dining table or be used in the stairwell. taken in Lancaster Gate by @mentsen

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a month ago

I-Beam is now available from Hand & Eye studio, made to order.

During the London Design Festival, I-Beam will be on display at a lovely kitchen showroom of @holte.studio in East London between 15th and 18th. If you find yourself in the Broadway Market area, please go have a look.

15-18 September 2026
Opening hours 9.00-18.00
Holte Studio
Unit G05 Northside Studios , 16-29 Andrews Road
London E8 4QF

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I-Beam is a suspended linear light with wooden beam housing a modern LED light source, and a sheet of handmade rag paper with deckle edges attached as a diffuser.

The product was developed in collaboration with us, Hand & Eye Studio, a lighting manufacturer based in Devon, and Paper Foundation, makers of fine handmade paper in Cambria.

@handandeyestudio @paper.foundation

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Find out more from Hand &Eye Studio!
Lovely new photography by @studio_rochowski by @mentsen

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a month ago

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a month ago

For this year’s London Design Week, we are taking a part in a group show ‘Sense of Place’ by Emma Louise Payne at Atelier Seventy Six.
@atelier_seventy_six

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About exhibition

Atelier Seventy-Six presents Sense of Place, an immersive exhibition curated by ceramic artist Emma Louise Payne that invites visitors to experience design through all five senses. The exhibition challenges the visual bias that has long dominated contemporary design. Rather than asking simply how objects look, Sense of Place explores how they are touched, heard, smelled, tasted and ultimately experienced.

Sense of Place
12-20 September 2026 / opening hours 13.00-18.00
Atelier Seventy Six
76 Sussex Square, W2 2SS

Featuring works by
@emmalouisepayne
@amechi.mandi
@studioaboveandbelow
@mentsen

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In this exhibition, Mentsen is presenting Tobali, a group of suspension light made with aluminium frames housing a LED strip, with a sheet of washi paper as a diffuser.
📄 💡

Hope you can visit the show and find out more! by @mentsen

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a month ago

Pipe Dream brooch was launched early last month (June) at our exhibition @unit.d__ . It was sold out at the opening night but this copper version is now in stock and exclusively available from the gallery and their online shop.

Their newest show with loveliest @_studiomama is opening tomorrow evening and runs till this Sunday. We’re really looking forward to it and also to catching up with friends in London design community. See you tomorrow!

The first image by Unit.d. by @mentsen

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3 months ago

Throw back to the exhibition “Making Sense — designing in London”at twentytwntyone last year — through the eyes of one of the participating designers Elliott Denny.

A great memory working with loveliest people and in a beautiful space.

All photos by @elliottceramics — thanks Elliott! taken in River Street by @mentsen

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3 months ago

Kinoko armchair for @zilioaec
From 2019
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Available in chunkier solid wood frame or slimmer metal frame. Both come with a generous wooden armrest. by @mentsen

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3 months ago