For those who have been following along with our shop’s curation, you might have noticed the quietly beautiful mortar incense houses and planters — each one carefully shaped by the hands of Kyoto-based designer, Nobuhiro Sato.
During our trip to Japan last year, we had the joy of meeting Sato-san in person and stepping into his serene, light-filled studio and shop.
Much like our SORT store, his workspace and shopfront live together in one space — the studio known as Pull Push Studio, and the storefront called TEKITNA. Tucked away from Kyoto’s busy tourist paths, the journey there felt like slipping into another pace entirely. We rode a small, local tram, passing by narrow streets, sleepy schools, and quiet homes. When we arrived at Narutaki Station, there it was: Sato-san’s studio and shop, sitting humbly right beside the tracks, as if waiting for us all along.
In conversation, we discovered that this space was once a neighbourhood grocery store — a detail that somehow made everything feel even warmer. Sato-san has lovingly preserved pieces of that past, like the illustrated ceiling panels that still look down on the room, quietly whispering old stories to all who enter.
With hearts full of excitement, we wandered through into the studio space, feeling as though every corner held a story waiting to be told. We couldn’t help but ask Sato-san endless questions — about his work, his process, and the many curious details surrounding us.
He shared that he works almost every single day, weekdays and weekends alike. Though he has a part-time staff who helps occasionally, he admits it’s difficult to find someone who can truly step into the hands-on, deeply personal nature of his craft.
As we spoke, our eyes drifted around the room and landed on small, whimsical touches — a fan and a clock, each adorned with cheerful, hand-drawn faces. We laughed with Sato-san, noting how, though he often works alone, he’s surrounded by his own delightful little team, quietly keeping him company through long, creative hours.
Our conversation eventually flowed into the shop space, TEKITNA. There, we couldn’t help but notice the thoughtful interior details — simple plywood partitions, soft draping curtains, and shelves ingeniously crafted from paper tubes. The entire space, along with the objects within it, felt like a perfect harmony of the ordinary and the artful. It came as no surprise, by this point, when Sato-san told us he built all the fixtures himself. He spoke of his joy in experimenting with different materials — even something as easily overlooked as a cleaning sponge sparks his curiosity. To him, nothing is too mundane; each material holds potential, quietly waiting to be transformed into something beautiful and unexpected.
As we left the studio and stepped back onto the quiet streets of Narutaki, we carried with us a sense of calm wonder — a reminder that beauty often lives in the quiet, unnoticed details of everyday life. Sato-san’s world feels like a testament to patience, playfulness, and curiosity, where even the simplest materials are given space to become something more.
We feel grateful to share his work in our collection and hope that, in some small way, it brings that same quiet joy into your home — an invitation to notice, to pause, and to find magic in the ordinary.
To shop Pull Push incense house, please visit this link.
