On April 10, 2018 a launch party was held to celebrate the opening of ARTIDA OUD.

ARTIDA OUD’s Journal—a serial focusing on women creators—talked with prop artist Keiko Hudson, the designer of ARTIDA OUD’s exhibit space. We asked her about what kind of ideas inspired her interior design choices. 

“I was so glad to be able to work with ARTIDA OUD because I love jewelry. In my experience, I knew a single body of dainty items has limitations in terms of expression, but I noticed a lot of new things while talking with the production team. They launched ARTIDA OUD with an e-commerce exclusive business format. Receiving their passion that they established the brand through trial and error, I strongly thought I wanted to try different approaches I had never done.”











We can find her persistence on fixtures and fittings which are designed to be aesthetically pleasing from any angle.  

“We had called meetings many times for two months and I heard about the passion and perspective of the creators and tried to incorporate them into the exhibition. Firstly, I started by sorting 10 design categories into four rough themes because I wanted to reduce the number of fixtures and fittings to increase the sense of space. Inspired by images and materials with written inscriptions, I understood and expressed them as four themes: ‘Moon,’ ‘Desert,’ ‘Eden,’ and ‘Jardin.’”








Desert





Eden





Moon







Jardin


Her favorite point is that she made the most of the whole space.  
“I did a number of things other than just working on fixtures and fittings, for example, putting cellophanes on the floor. I approached the project with a playful spirit.”

The blue ocean-like cellophane at the photo booth expressed the idea of travel from the Mediterranean to Eurasia, which is the theme of ARTIDA OUD. 

“Because I thought photos of Silvia Conde posted on Instagram symbolized ARTIDA OUD’s perspective of the world, I incorporated them in a panel with the image of ‘fantastic voyage’ embodied in her works.”





She also exhibited a package with illustrations by Cynthia Kittler, an illustrator in Berlin. The wrapping which is also suitable for gifts gives off a subtle scent when it is opened. It is covered with colorful shantung and delivers jewelry and happiness at the same time.







An authentic organic perfume made in Italy and rarely seen in Japan was unveiled too. She dared to use strictly regulated organic-certified perfume.  

“I created a display that cut offs images around which wafts a floating woody scent.” According to Hudson, the pleasant aroma tickles our noses. “La Terra”—the blessed earth with a soft breeze. It is a mysterious and elegant scent which is brought by fresh grass and flowers. It evokes the image of “oud,” the second part of ARTIDA OUD’s brand name through its woody and earthy smell.
On the day of the launch, visitors can get a mini bottle as a small gift. 





“Simply looking at jewelry cheers me up. I found what I want after checking new products. I love customizing items which change how my earrings look. And, I am also curious about rings for autumn season on which the moon and a red star are put together, the “viper” series rings with a snake motif, and chokers.  

At the first meeting, I was surprised to hear there are about 10 types of design themes, but I understood that each of them were created with passion the more I listened. Although the price is reasonable, all of them are delicate and made with care and I could feel the persistence of the brand. They can be used every day and look amazing even when worn alone. But the real charm of jewelry consists in how fascinating it is to mix and match them to achieve different looks. I think it is nice because it seems to offer women an opportunity to enjoy creative and unique fashion.”

This space was full of scenes that made the roughly 400 visitors feel something each in their own way, and made them want to remember by taking pictures. That is because Hudson unreservedly incorporated the concepts of “joy” and “like” into the jewelry of ARTIDA OUD as a woman and a prop artist. The night, featuring this special collaboration with a budding artist, was a roaring success. 

 

PROFILE

KEIKO HUDSON





Prop stylist/artist. She engages in direction, set design and prop styling of life visual production dedicated to fashion, cosmetics, and food. She also works on visual direction and styling of advertisements, magazines, and social media content for companies. Using daily props (small instruments), she creates an unordinary perspective of the world by changing how things are combined and the balance composition in her works with her own style.  
https://www.instagram.com/keikohudson_/?hl=ja



PHOTOGRAPHER／SOSUKE SHIMIZU
MOVIE／SHO MATSUKI
EDIT／RIDE MEDIA&DESIGN　TEXT／HANAKO FUJITA