BACKSTORIES by Tokuhiko Kise

This is a desk for an adult.

I may technically be an adult, but I mean an “adult” not by age, but by… cool.

The type who is experienced in many things and so carries with him a sense of sophistication and style; who keeps a level head and is never bothered. The type who can order his favorite drink at the bar no questions asked but also has a sense of playfulness about him.

In the rooms of such “cool adults” that I’ve seen in the movies, there is a desk. It neither faces a wall nor is pushed up against one. A classic double pedestal desk, there are drawers on both sides.

When his guest enters the room, they have a chat over it. The cool adult offers his guest the seat across from him. When they make a deal or things go well, he draws whiskey glasses smoothly out from the cabinet behind him, pours two glasses, and they clink them in a toast – day, night, or whenever the mood strikes.

I made this desk with that scene in mind. The desk would fit right into it. In fact, no matter where you look at it from, it goes with everything. In the three drawers on the left and right sides, longtime used fountain pens and stationery sit in their right place, where they always have been, at hand and ready to use. Nearby lie gently soiled mini-cars from childhood and old sticks of bubble gum.

Brass panels accent the sides and back of the desk. Rather than gaudy, glistening gold, the cool adult prefers dull, worn brass and oak.

The scene has been set; the desk has been made. With that, I’ll be able to become a “cool adult” — right?

Tokuhiko Kise