25 years in Aoyama. Artists and stylists frequent the shop in search of tableware for everyday use.
Utsuwa Kaede opened in Minami-Aoyama in the summer of 1998. It relocated to its new location in the spring of 2021 and then to Omotesando in 2024. Despite the change in location and size, the comfortable space, filled with the aesthetic sense and attention to detail of owner Yoko Shimada, remains unchanged.
The same goes for the tableware he stocks. He frequently visits the homes of artists with whom he has had a long association for nearly a quarter of a century, including Usuda Keiko, who creates vibrant lapis lazuli glazes, Sunada Masami, who creates vessels with rhythmic ridges, Hasegawa Natsu, who creates earthenware with beautiful ash and iron glazes, Akino Yoko, who creates cool, hand-blown lace glass, and Kobayashi Shinji, who creates modern, simple lacquerware, to select his vessels.
Ueda Koichi's teapot (160ml) is 13,500 yen, base plate (φ18cm) is 9,900 yen, and base plate (φ24.5cm) is 11,000 yen. In addition to ceramic lacquerware, he also makes yakishime and semi-porcelain. 
Many people visit the shop looking for the classic items such as small plates, small bowls, bowls and rice bowls.
Another feature of this store is that it stocks many items that could be called classics, as the store wants to "meet the wishes of customers who want to buy more or buy more of the same item."
Of the 40 or so artists we do business with, the youngest is Ueda Koichi, born in 1991 and a potter in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture. "He's an artist who has been making pots since he was a student. After the final firing, he applies lacquer instead of glaze and fires it at a low temperature, creating small pots that are also appealing for their ease of use."
