Monocle on Design

What can designers learn from the principles of Japanese gardening?

Monocle on Design

Show Notes

Niwaki founder Jake Hobson on why Japanese garden shears demonstrate the key to good design. Plus: Ferrari shocks critics. And: the joy of luxury stationery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More from Monocle on Design

Oct 21, 2026

Live from Frieze London: We’re joined by JLR’s Nick Rolls and Collect’s fair director, TF Chan, to ask where art ends and design begins – and whether that line still matters. We discuss working between the two disciplines, collecting and making, as well as the rising market for functional objects.

Oct 20, 2026

We tour this year’s Paris Motor Show with Chris Cermak and Chloé Nakao-Pélata. Renault Clio and Alfa Romeo’s chief designers detail the road ahead for mobility. Plus: Why EV design might finally be turning a corner. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 13, 2026

Grace Charlton speaks with the founders of Studio Boum about design and fashion. Then: Lorenza Luti of pioneering Italian furniture brand Kartell explains why physical retail still reigns supreme. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 6, 2026

We head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to speak with architect Nathan Rich. Then: the architecture of runways at Paris Fashion Week. Plus: how decades of war shape design thinking in Beirut. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 29, 2026

Omar Gandhi tells Nic Monisse how a lifelong love of baseball informs the feeling that he strives to create with his practice. Then: Alvar Aalto and Louis Kahn’s design philosophy. Plus: Highlights from Monocle’s new issue. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See all episodes →