HINT, born from LAYFUL Lab.
PLAYFUL Lab.
"Bring a playful spirit into your daily life."
Regardless of race, gender, disability, age, or region,
By creating an environment where people can encounter "firsts" in their daily lives,
This project aims to cultivate the power to create a future that does not yet exist.
PLAYFUL Lab. uses discarded materials collected from both inside and outside Awaji Island.
A place where everyone can freely use their hands, experiment, and create.
We value the ideas that arise from working with materials.
In that process,
"You can encounter materials in this way too."
One idea that emerged was a craft kit made from recycled materials.
That is not the complete answer.
This is just one entry point to using the materials.
And one more thing,
To be close to the time spent working with the materials,
It was created to provide the impetus for people to start thinking.
Here's a "HINT".
Here, you encounter materials and create while playing.
Here are some hints from PLAYFUL Lab.
Moving your hands, feeling lost, trying things out,
I gradually encounter my own personal insights.
I want to be a presence that quietly supports people through that process.
From here, we will explain the background behind the creation of HINT 01 - Hagire Wakka - from Makikoms' perspective.
HINT 01 -Scrap fabric rings-
■What Makikoms considered when creating PLAYFUL Lab. HINT 01
I first had the opportunity to visit S BRICK's CRAFT BASE on March 26, 2025.
It was a beautifully renovated former spinning mill with high ceilings and brickwork. There was a spacious room where children could play freely even on rainy days, and a cafe as well. I thought to myself that if it had been here when I was raising children, I would have definitely used it. Connected to these areas was a CRAFT BASE, where many kinds of so-called scrap materials (industrial waste) were neatly sorted and lined up in cases. There were various plastic materials, strings, bamboo, fabrics, and papers, and just looking at them was exciting. I think it would be a dream space for a child who loves to make things.
Among all the materials we considered, the one that captured our attention the most was the "fabric scraps" we chose for this project. At first glance, they look like hair ties, but that's not the case. After hearing about them, we learned that they are leftover scraps of knitted fabric that inevitably result from the production of socks at the factory. They have cute shapes, come in a variety of colors including light blue, navy blue, and black, and the materials vary from soft and stretchy to firm, offering a high degree of versatility. We instinctively felt that they would be interesting to transform into something new.
From there, as they pulled and touched the material, simple words describing its characteristics like "it's a ring," "you can connect them," "you can cut it," "it's light," and "it stretches" came to mind. Furthermore, their imaginations expanded rapidly, appreciating the pleasant feel of the material, the cuteness of its shapes and colors, and the possibilities of what could be made by connecting them. This is probably not just something that comes from adult experience, but something that children also come up with as they touch and play with the material, cutting and connecting it. For Makicoms, which is committed to creating things with hands as well as thinking with the mind, this was a very welcome encounter with the material.
It was also good to watch a video showing the process of how the "fabric scraps" are made. I learned that they are unavoidable when the socks, which are knitted in a machine at the factory, are sewn shut as a final finishing touch, and it made me feel even more attached to them.
After exhausting all our ideas, we started the prototype process by simply knitting and connecting pieces together, having a great time. It was so much fun that we couldn't stop once we started.
The reason we put together HINT 01 this time is not to show the answers or how to make the finished product, but rather to use hints about the materials to encourage visitors to think outside the box, let their imaginations run wild, and describe the characteristics of the materials as they play, or to think for themselves and create something tangible. It's okay if it doesn't turn out perfectly in the end. What's important is to touch it, think, and get your hands dirty.
It's a fun and enriching experience for everyone, not just children, to imagine how we can make good use of things we're going to throw away before actually discarding them. Try it with things around you!
(Masuda Makiko)
I went to visit S-BRICK on Awaji Island.
An exciting display made from lots of recycled materials.
As the first to participate in the HINT relay, what can we do...? What kind of development should we aim for...? How can we make it easier for others to follow...?
As I touched each material, questions like, "What kind of waste is this?", "Why is it no longer needed?", and "What are the unique characteristics of this waste?" came to mind one after another.
The key is to touch, feel, and use your hands to examine the materials.
Materials whose characteristics come to mind easily, and materials for which not many characteristics come to mind.
Among all the materials I considered, the ones that showed me the most potential—in terms of feel, coloring, and the sensation of pulling them—were these discarded socks.
When I returned to Kobe and looked it up, I found out it's called "hagirewakka" (scraps of cloth). It actually has a name!
I researched online and watched YouTube videos to find out when something is unnecessary.
I tried tying it in my hair. I tried putting it on my arm. I tried connecting them like rubber bands. I can braid with it! The combination of colors, what I want to make, what I think I can make, as I start working with my hands, the possibilities just keep expanding, and I enter a zone where I can't stop. Thinking about it is so much fun! I have great chemistry with this material! When you find a material that suits you like this, it's incredibly fun to create!
I believe that it's all about compatibility and how you interact with ingredients. For example, I might not like raw tomatoes, but I'm okay with tomato juice! Or soup! Or stir-fried! Or ketchup! I hope that people can find ways to enjoy tomatoes so that they don't dislike them.
Therefore, instead of just providing a "how-to" guide on how to play or make things, I thought that by incorporating the concept behind how to play and make things, the value of the materials and the act of creating would deepen, and people would begin to experiment and develop an attachment to the materials. I also thought that this could lead to people becoming interested in other materials in the same way, touching and feeling them, and then expanding upon them.
I would be happy if you could get that feeling through this leaflet.
Thank you to S BRICK for introducing me to a new material that suits me so well, and to Design Hero for putting it all together so nicely in the flyer!
I encourage you all to think about the characteristics of materials around you and come up with fun ways to interact with them. ENJOY!
(Kawasaki Maki)
Makicoms
A creative unit by Masuda Makiko and Kawasaki Maki.
Drawing inspiration from everyday occurrences, I come up with ideas for giant, long, and fun objects, which I then turn into participatory art workshops involving adults and children. While both getting involved and being involved, I emphasize taking even the most silly things seriously, valuing the process of feeling and creating with one's hands. My work includes monthly art play sessions at nurseries, park renovations and municipal projects in Kobe, venue design, and experiential exhibitions at places like the Hamada World Children's Art Museum that encourage reflection on environmental issues.