The installation includes finely woven bamboo bags and baskets by the Kyoto-based artisan Kohchosai Kosuga; simple wood stacking boxes by the Nagano-based maker Masashi Ifuji; black lacquer Urushi bowls and vases by the Fukushima-based Kenta Anzai; playful ink-brushed ceramics (with depictions of dogs, cats and pigs) from Kenichi Takanaka in Chiba and even eerily lifelike stuffed cats, made of wool and felt with glass eyes, from the Tokyo-based artisan Tamako Yoshii. “I think craft is so important,” said Park, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Hawaii. “It’s one of the biggest assets for the country of Japan.”

Park selected each artisan from around Japan to participate, visiting many of them in their studios; some artisans even created pieces exclusively for Tiina the Store. The Gifu-based glass blower Masao Kuzumi, inspired by Laakkonen’s love of Yves Klein blue, sent over a selection of jewel-like vases in that color. “This is really an extreme insider’s guide to Japanese craft,” Laakkonen said. “And food, because Sonya is sort of the grand dame of Tokyo and Kyoto.”

Park started Arts & Science in 2003, opening a store in Daikanyama, Tokyo, that sold only vintage pieces, as well as daily necessities like mattresses and towels. Eventually, she added pajamas, clothing, accessories and home goods — today, she has eight stores in Tokyo and four in Kyoto, including a cafe called Down the Stairs. “The whole idea was that the store was going to be my closet,” Park says. “I would never feed people anything that I would not put in my mouth. I would never put something in my stores that I would not have in my home.” But, she emphasizes, she doesn’t like to call herself a designer. “No, I take something. I edit. I might be a good editor.”