Nendo’s latest creation is the “Cupnoodle Urushi”, a decorated cup for instant noodles, for the Cupnoodles Museum in Yokohama, Japan.
“Urushi” is the term for the art of Japanese lacquerware, which is very valuable if it is designed by a skilled Urushi master. As such, Nendo’s Cupnoodle Urushi is a new souvenir product that draws attention to history and production methods of the packaging of the iconic cup noodles.
Nendo say that we’re so used to simply discarding the Cup Noodle packaging after consuming its contents, so they wanted to turn the packaging into something of beauty and value. They asked lacquerware artisans to paint lacquer directly onto the ordinary packaging material.
The motivation for the Cupnoodle Urushi project is explained by Nendo as such: “We combined the familiar concepts of throwaway packaging and bowls for everyday home dining into one object with a new value located somewhere in between.”