The Room.

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Type

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Pop-Ups

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Duration

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14 months

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Category

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Life Style Selected Boutique

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Theme

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Recognition of Woman Existence

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Location

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1700 Lida St, Paadena.

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Size

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4,200 sq. ft.

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Team

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Hazel Yu, Mengshu Liu.

Design Story

"Okiniiri" (お気に入り) in Japanese translates to "favorite" or "something you like" or "something cherished." It's a word often used to express personal preference or affection toward something meaningful or special, typically something that resonates on a deeper, more personal level.  

Okiniiri Pop-Up Showroom is a spatial exploration of intimacy, memory, and the everyday rituals that shape women’s identities. Derived from the Japanese word okiniiri (お気に入り)the project investigates how small, ordinary objects can carry deep emotional and cultural significance. Rather than positioning the space as a conventional retail environment, the showroom is conceived as a temporary domestic interior, echoing the atmosphere of a shared living room. This familiar setting invites visitors to slow down, observe, and reflect, transforming the act of viewing into a quiet, personal experience.

The design draws inspiration from feminist art practices and domestic narratives, particularly the ways women’s stories have historically been embedded in private spaces rather than public monuments. By referencing everyday rituals—arranging objects, touching fabric, gathering around light—the showroom reframes domesticity not as limitation, but as a site of agency, care, and transformation.

The Scene

Objects as Symbols

The items featured in the showroom are intentionally modest in scale yet rich in meaning. Rather than functioning purely as commodities, they operate as symbolic artifacts representing empowerment, care, and continuity.

Quiet Lineages

"Personal rituals passed through generations

cultural memory embedded in everyday use

the quiet resilience found in women’s lived experiences."

On Site

"Soft, translucent materials are used to blur boundaries."

Be Presence

Shadows, layered textiles, and diffused lighting create an ambiguous spatial condition where visitors momentarily see themselves as part of the environment—mirroring how women’s roles have often been simultaneously visible and unseen throughout history.

The Okiniiri Pop-Up Showroom is designed to be experienced slowly. Visitors are invited not only to look, but to linger, touch, and contemplate. The space resists instant consumption, instead offering a moment of pause within an increasingly accelerated world.

Baggu - Guerrilla Girls Dearest Art  
Challenges the historical underrepresentation of women in art, echoing the themes of empowerment, visibility, and reclaiming space for women that your exhibition aims to explore.

Experience & Intention

By situating women’s narratives within a soft, domestic environment, the project challenges traditional hierarchies of value—asking what stories are preserved, what spaces are honored, and how design can make room for quieter forms of significance.

At the end

"As a continuing project, Okiniiri envisions future iterations where visitors can contribute their own objects, stories, or gestures—allowing the space to evolve collectively. Through these interactions, the showroom becomes not just a display, but a living archive of shared memory and transformation."

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