Lexus Presents the Takumi Townhouse at London Craft Week

Lexus will present its Takumi Townhouse at London Craft Week (4-10 October), celebrating the unique Japanese concept and tradition of takumi, the artisans who dedicate years to mastering their skills. Taking place across two floors at UNIT X in Seven Dials in Covent Garden, the exhibition will explore ‘takumi’ in the UK today, focusing on work with leather, glass, wood, metal and paper, materials that are used to express the hand-crafted luxury of Lexus cars. 

This is the first time that Lexus has participated in London Craft Week, which is returning for its seventh edition with a programme of events showcasing exceptional craftsmanship and creativity from hundreds of emerging and celebrated makers in almost 400 events.

The Lexus Takumi Townhouse will host talks and demonstrations from five British master craftspeople who collaborated with Lexus in creating bespoke pieces of work inspired by a different Lexus model and material. These commissioned works will also be on display.

The featured craftspeople are:

• Otis Ingrams is considered one of the best young leatherworkers in Britain. His bespoke leather seat reflect the design and takumi craftsmanship found in the Lexus LC flagship coupe. He will talk about the traditional and contemporary techniques he uses to create leather objects.
• Paper artist Claire Pentlow, whose intricate model is inspired by the instrument panel found in the Lexus UX 250h compact luxury SUV, will give a demonstration and workshop on the possibilities of paper through cutting and folding (1-4pm on 4 October).
• Blacksmith Will Barker, whose steel sculpture is influenced by metal design elements in the Lexus ES saloon, will give a talk and workshop in which participants can create their own steel keyring (noon, 3pm and 5pm on 7 October).
• Further artworks on display will include artist Sally Burnett’s sculpture inspired by wood design elements found in the Lexus RX L seven-seat SUV, and glassmaker Peter Layton’s sculpture inspired by the kiriko glass inserts in the Lexus LS saloon’s door panels.

Lexus will also display two versions of its UX SUV – the zero-emission battery electric UX 300e and a special, one-off version of the full hybrid electric UX 250h – the world’s first tattooed car. These will be on show in the Japanese courtyard garden at the Takumi Townhouse, located at The Stables, 25 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9LH.  Entry is free and the opening hours are:

4-7pm on Monday 4 October
11am-7pm on Tuesday 5, Wednesday 6, Thursday 7 and Saturday 9 October
11am-5pm on Friday 8 October
11am-6pm on Sunday 10 October

For more information visit www.londoncraftweek.com.

ENDS