Not Magazine. Not Book. Mook!

I've mentioned mooks in this blog before, when I wrote about a fav designer
Lotta Jansdotter. But, you may well be wondering, what exactly is a mook? It's a huge phenomenon over in Japan - a combination of magazine styling in the format of a perfect-bound book. Lotta's is one of the most popular in Japan. There's lots of different mooks, some with tons of ads, and yet the ads still manage to look really cool - more like a fashion or editorial layout. Once again, like French, I cannot read a bit of Japanese either. Big surprise there. But I don't know about you, but I find looking at beautiful design and photographs gives me a ton of inspiration. You can find mooks at Kinokuniya bookstore in Japantown. They have an abundant selection, and lots of other beautiful art books as well. Here's a look at some inside spreads of two of favorite mooks.

Here's Masaki's Lifestyle. I'm told by my Japanese friend Hiji, that she is a former model, very famous in Japan. I'll have to take her word for it. However, I do recognize this as Columbia Road Market in London - that much I could gather without being able to read a word. One of my favorite places. Here's Masaki and her sweet daughter flea & flower marketing.




Masaki's charming living area. I love how simple and clean it looks, and how comfy that loveseat and duvet look.





Some of Masaki's cool accessories...lovely linens, soaps, dishes, market baskets and collection of chopsticks and wooden spoons...

Masaki's bedrooms...again I like the simplicity. Even the little shelving above the bed looks good. And I love the contrast of a fancy chandelier with the simple decor.















We move onto Lotta's Lifestyle. As some of you may have already heard, she has moved on to Brooklyn, so this is a former San Francisco abode. We can only hope they publish her new Brooklyn home. This is her somewhat sparse, but really stylish living area. The accents of orange look great and I love that mid century coffee table and the cool sofa on wheels with scattered objects d'art.

Lotta doesn't live here any more...so sad. We'll miss you Lotta, but we'll be sure to look out for your New York adventures and ever evolving creations.







Some of Lotta's groovy accessories. Note that this mook was published in 2003, so I think Lotta was onto the mid century modern trend long before some of us. She's got great wood and glass accents, fun fabrics as well as those great rattan side chairs. Definite chair envy.


Lotta's cool sketch books. See how inspiring it all is? I love seeing an artist's ideas come to life on paper. Makes me want to draw!





This is a fabulous use of a very tiny kitchen space. And the tomato-red walls look great with the unexpected b/w print over the stove, black accents and pots & pan rack. The Japanese lantern is a nice touch, too.









Lotta's mook also features the stylish pads of some of her good friends. This is ceramic artist Rae Dunn's sunny San Francisco flat. She has a simple, yet great aesthetic - I love her place. And, after looking Rae's lovely home - I realize once again, I have too much stuff!

So that's a mook. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. ありがとう