Lexus chooses leather artisan to launch UK takumi film series
A London-based leather artisan, Otis Ingrams, is the first expert to have his craftsmanship feature in a new series of films made by automotive brand Lexus to celebrate the importance of ‘takumi’.
Takumi, the Japanese word for master craftsman. In the west, there is an acceptance that a person needs to devote 10,000 hours to any activity to become an expert. In Japan the belief is that it takes 60,000 hours to reach takumi status.
This new film features Otis Ingrams at his North London studio, as he creates a one-of-a-kind leather seat, inspired by the design and takumi craftsmanship on show in the Lexus LC coupé.
It is the first in a series of five films that the automotive company will release in the coming months to illustrate what it calls parallels between takumi status at Lexus and the work of artisans in the UK.
In the film, Mr Ingrams explained that the Lexus LC coupé was the inspiration for the piece he created because the car is “incredibly sculptural”. He said he had focused on the interior door panel out of admiration for its smoothness and “flowing lines”.
The designer completed an apprenticeship at the Bill Amberg Studio and set up his own studio, OTZI, in 2013 to create bespoke, hand-crafted pieces. He said in the film: “Leather’s a very special material for me. It has huge potential. You can use it for almost anything and with a wide range of other materials.”
He said he wanted to translate “the sense of speed, dynamism and acceleration” that the Lexus LC offers into a piece of furniture.
