FIXES

Several oil cans cut apart, joined together with duct tape and painted form a large commercial-use outdoor rubbish bin.

Location: Nagoya
Materials: Duct Tape, Oil Can, Paint

My wife is the poo expert in our house. She is the self-declared ウンチ・ファインダー(Poo Finder). This does not mean that she appreciates it in any way shape or form… imagine her horror to find errant and especially smelly poo in our apartment carpark – a rare and shocking occurence in a city where plastic poo bags are king, and apartment dwellers wipe their pooches bums after every ablution. toilet stop…. It is also very inconvenient as it takes up two bicycle parking spaces in our cramped residential grounds.

This rock construction (made specifically out of white stones for good night visibility) is her attempt at poss-safety (as it was beyond her powers to get close enough to dispose of the offending material).

Look closely at the last photo – I think that these are the offenders. As I was taking these photos they turned the corner, possibily to give us a second bombing… not sure what they have against us, probably our screaming children and wayward terrorist-looking man-about-the-house.

Thanks to Ayu Berthelsen for this great insight into housewife FIXing techniques.

Materials: Rocks
Location: Akishima-shi, Tokyo

Laminated sign cautions pet owners to clean up after their loved ones doings.

Materials: Laminated Sign
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Swallows build nests to raise their young in the nooks and crannies of structures all over Tokyo. Instead of destroying the nests in retaliation for copious droppings that result, accommodating caretakers of residential and commercial buildings lay out mats of cardboard (when close to the ground) or build ‘dropping catchers’ by fixing wooden boards to steel H-beams with vices (for larger commercial structures). I’m impressed with these gentle constructions and savour the human/non-human relationships that slowly grow as we experience the process from egg, to chick, to flight.

Materials: Wood, Cardboard, Vice
Location: All over Tokyo

Wet wipes on the handles of a child’s bicycle – for clean hands or clean handlebars?

Materials: Wet Wipes
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Overview of items fixed and back in use in the rubbish center. The center tool stock comes almost entirely of rescued items from apartment complex trash.

Broom saved from the trash heap with a large helping of duct tape. Now in use.

Detail of hand made rack in rubbish center. Construction in plastic twine and tape.

Materials: Duct Tape, Plastic Twine
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Repurposed tv unit houses library of rescued reading material, and acts as storage space for cleaning tools and items that rubbish center workers want to keep for themselves.

Materials: Storage Items
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Fire extinguisher stored right in the most flammable area. Salvaged bath/shower stool put to use as stand.

Materials: Bath Stool
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Cardboard box recycling tower constructed from salvaged metal rack and wood block for stabilization. Stool for reaching upper levels.

Materials: Metal Rack, Wood Block
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Series of instructions regarding the disposal of paper and cardboard. Green laminated sign reads ‘paper’, hand written sign instructs residents to secure bundles of cardboard with string, typed sign notes instructions from the city.

Materials: Laminated Paper
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Instructions on the disposal of glass bottles/jars – take the lid of first. Note emphasis over ‘lid’, cute portrait, and signature from the ‘Clean Trio’ who take care of the rubbish/recyling center.

Materials: Paper
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Overview of can, glass bottle and plastic bottle recycling station. Full crates form structure and support for empty.
Cheerful handmade sign providing instruction on the correct way to recycle plastic bottles.

Materials: Plastic Crates, Coat Hanger
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Cheerful hand made signs instructing residents to (1) flatten plastic bottles and (2) remove the cap and label from plastic bottles before placing them in the recycling sack.

Materials: Paper, Pegs, Coat hanger
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Full nets support emptier ones waiting to be filled. Organic self-supporting structure.

Materials: Net Sacks
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Clothes rack repaired with tape and repurposed as a drying + storage system for rags used by rubbish center staff.

Materials: Clothes Rack, Coat Hanger, Duct Tape, Bags
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Delicate decoration and cobbled together storage.

Materials: Wind Chime, Soap Holder
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Cleaning space constructed by rubbish center staff consists of various recycled and repurposed items.
A water cooler bottle ready for reuse is taped up. Does the duct tape cap keep dirt and liquid out?

Materials: Recycled Materials
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Peg transforms hose and basin into stable sink for store cleaners in central Tokyo.

Materials: Peg, Basin
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo.

Streetside storage for net used on rubbish day.

Materials: Shopping Basket, Plastic Twine, S-Hook
Location: Akabanebashi, Tokyo

Siding rivets as broom storage.


Materials: Rivets
Location: Akishima, Tokyo