Koyo Ibushi in Retail

Across boutiques and destination retail spaces in Zürich, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, Koyo Ibushi tiles bring the quiet depth of carbon-fired Japanese ceramics into carefully composed interiors.

Project Information

Projects: Breitling Zürich; Hermès Tokyo; Leica Kyoto; pas de calais Tokyo; Abeno Harukas Osaka; Paul Smith Tokyo
Tile collections: Harima, Arare, Jin
Manufacturer: Koyo Ibushi, Japan
Applications: Retail walls, floors and architectural details

Breitling Zürich — Harima Yama

At Breitling Zürich, Harima Yama creates a strongly directional wall surface. The folded profile catches light along alternating planes, giving the dark ceramic a changing architectural rhythm.

Hermès Tokyo — Arare and Jin

Arare Large and Jin floor tiles bring two scales of the same carbon-rich ceramic language into the Hermès Tokyo interior. The smaller repeated elements provide texture, while the larger floor format establishes a calmer foundation.

Leica Kyoto and pas de calais Tokyo — Arare

At Leica Kyoto, Arare Small creates a fine-grained surface suited to close viewing. pas de calais Tokyo uses the Extra Small format, where the tighter module turns the fired variation into an almost textile-like field.

Abeno Harukas Osaka — Arare Medium

The Medium format at Abeno Harukas balances the detail of a mosaic with a more legible individual module. Each piece retains subtle tonal differences created through firing, preventing the larger surface from appearing uniform.

Paul Smith Tokyo — Yama A

At Paul Smith Tokyo, Yama A is used as a sculptural wall finish. Repeated angled faces build shadow into the installation and allow the ceramic surface to shift as it is approached from different directions.

Material Character

Koyo Ibushi tiles are defined by an unglazed, carbon-fired surface with variation in tone, texture and reflection. Across these retail projects, the material supports the architecture without relying on printed pattern or applied decoration.

Explore Harima, Arare and Jin.

Article by Mittsu Japanese Tiles
Curated by Ian Reynolds