Featured Artist: TYA Kitchen

From the unassuming exterior of Yukio Kawai’s workshop in Tokyo, you have no idea of the magic being created inside. Yukio is a master at reproducing scenes in miniature, in particular various kitchen scenes from restaurants & cafes.  He works alongside his wife & daughter, who, between them, create all the aspects needed for their vignettes.

Yukio works with all kinds of metal; copper, iron, stainless steel, aluminium & tin. Inspired by the world around him, he aims to make his miniature kitchen appliances as realistic as possible.

With the advance of new technology, 3d printers are able to recreate anything you could possibly want in miniature, but Yukio is from the old skool & hand makes every kitchen utensil, bread tin or gardening item himself by hand.

Like many craftsmen’s workshops, Yukio’s Tokyo studio looks chaotic, full of bits of wood & metal hanging from the ceiling & strange mechanical tools (the foot press is the most important to him; it is an analog machine that gives his finished work the warmth that is so important) but out of the chaos comes perfection.  

I observe the real thing closely and pursue how to make it look as real as possible when made into a metal miniature. I am self-taught. 

This is Yukio’s full time job & he has admirers of his work all around the world.  He is currently working on a restaurant scene, but is most proud of a Brass cooking stove he has made in the past.

To see more of his work & his incredible workshop & store, you must watch these short videos which capture the atmosphere in his studio & show his work in more depth.

See more of Yukio’s work HERE