SUS Gallery: Receptacles with a taste of luxury

SUSgallery is a lifestyle brand of metal tableware from the city of Tsubame, Niigata Prefecture, a place that is garnering attention for its world-class Japanese local industries.

The brand arose from the idea of offering “new expressions and possibilities for metal working that enriches our daily lives“ by complementing the advanced metalworking techniques of this area’s craftsmen with designs grounded in modern life. Tsubame’s artisans produce a quality to enhance your experience.

※In the previous article, we have introduced the chopsticks maker "Marunao"which is also based in Tsubame city.

As the name of the company implies, SUSgallery has primarily developed stainless steel products. At one point, President Shibuki became interested in the potential of a new metal “titanium”, and SUSgallery began manufacturing applied products. The initial design concept was to make “a tumbler for imbibing delicious alcoholic beverages.” At the time, there was no company commercializing vacuum-insulated dual structure titanium tumblers. With a venture capitalist spirit seeking to make a first-of-its-kind creation, we embarked on the development of the titanium tumblers. However, many technical issues stood in the way when we actually got down to it. Working with titanium is incomparably more difficult than with stainless steel. Titanium is so hard that it easily cracks when one attempts to shape it.

It was a daily trial-and-error process trying to figure out the most efficient way to shape titanium, how to control the surface finish, how to make the vacuum-insulated structure stable, and other issues. As the development process went on, the artisans’ passion for engineering grew day by day, urging them on to find a solution and satisfy their desire to somehow create a vacuum-insulated dual structure titanium tumbler. As a result, the artisans’ efforts yielded a piece of beauty in the tumbler that finally met their standards.

As Tsubame’s artisans worked out how to develop the TITANESS Tumbler, superb functionality and singular beauty were generated. To create the gorgeousness we constantly strive for, craftsmanship with designers simply focusing on design is not enough. While of course the tumbler has a functionality that comes from the artisans’ advanced machining techniques, it also possesses an authentic beauty because the product has a deep-rooted presence that speaks to the soul of the person holding it.
When you grip the tumbler in your hand, it rests there comfortable, although you have an unusual sensation in that you cannot feel the warmth of the contents. So that you can enjoy your beverage in a leisurely manner, the TITANESS Tumbler maintains your drink’s temperature and largely stops ice from creating condensation on the surface. When relaxing and enjoying a beverage as a part of your everyday life, it adds another level of sophistication. That is the power of the TITANESS Tumbler.

The TITANESS Tumbler was made possible by enormous amounts of guidance and advice provided from outside SUSgallery, as well as the ideas and efforts of all the company’s employees working in manufacturing, sales and branding. Meanwhile, the crystal pattern is a thing of shining beauty embodying the work of so many people.

SUSgallery’s vacuum-insulated titanium tumblers, excellent pieces of work combining Japanese technology and beauty, were used to make a toast at the closing lunch for world leaders attending APEC2010, fitting with the theme of “hospitality, a Japanese strength.” The tumblers were also presented as gifts during the summit. In addition, SUSgallery tumblers were selected as presents for the British royal family in 2015. The brand’s tumblers have earned high praise as fine items for serving global VIPs.