ABOUT
Hello! My name is Karen Okino Butzbach. My mother, Shizu Okino, and I comprise Shizu Designs, and we design and make all of our rocks.
We use traditional Japanese basket making techniques to transform rocks into art – art that invites quiet contemplation, peace and serenity.
We use rattan or cane to wrap and tie the rocks with ornamental knots used in Japanese ikebana basketry. The stones are individually selected for shape, color and pattern. The knots are selected to complement the size and shape of the stone. The result is a fanciful, decorative piece that, we believe, projects a sense of peacefulness and tranquility.
Each stone represents hours of work, and should last a very long time if handled with care.
We are currently selling our rocks in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the Noguchi Museum in New York, the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, the Phoenix Art Museum, The Crowe Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, and gift shops in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, London, Japan, Switzerland and Hong Kong. We also did a collaboration with fashion house Loewe, providing leather wrapped rocks for the Salone Del Mobile in Milan.
We feel that we are offering unique and beautiful pieces of art; we have looked and have not seen anything comparable anywhere.
Welcome to Shizu Designs