Umami Mart sprouted into this world as a food + drink blog in 2007, with contributors from NYC, Tokyo, LA, San Francisco, São Paulo, London and Copenhagen. Over the years, it has grown into a Japanese bar and kitchenware importing business. &#8211; from <a href="http://umamimart.com/" target="_blank">Umami Mart&#8217;s website</a>
Manual Labor has worked with owners Yoko Kumano and Kayoko Akabori to bring to life the vision created with Copenhagen-based Designer <a href="http://www.arhoj.com/" target="_blank">Ander Arhoj</a> for a Japanese kitchen and barware mecca. We&#8217;ve collaborated over the last seven years to build out their flagship store in Oakland. Our work with Umamimart has included planning, design, building, and installation.

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The remodel of this home in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland started small. The owners are adventurous, however, and a simple kitchen remodel turned into a full house redesign with major structural upgrades. Nothing was left untouched, although the remodel preserved the best aspects of the original home. Both owners have a strong design eye and were active partners in every design decision.
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We opened up the kitchen and made the connection to the backyard a focus. We stripped off a poorly built flat-roofed extension and rebuilt it with a vaulted roof that looks original. The central stairs were redesigned completely with a large skylight to bring light deep into the entryway, once the darkest area of the house. Twelve inch wide solid Douglas Fir flooring was used throughout the home. We added only 11 sf to the home, but the new light-filled layout feels much larger than before.
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<a href="https://www.axelsonbuilders.com/">Axelson Builders</a> did amazing work &#8211; while dealing with very specific design details. The structural design was done by <a href="https://www.mosswoodengineering.com/">Mosswood Engineering</a>. All of the millwork was custom made by <a href="https://munsonfurniture.com/">Munson Furniture</a>, and the attention to the small moments is fantastic. Manual Labor designed and made the custom fireplace seating. We also designed and produced custom lighting with help from <a href="http://kineticelectricsf.com/">Kinetic Electric</a>. Photos by <a href="https://cw-photography.com/">Christopher Woodcock</a> and Manual Labor.

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Manual Labor worked closely with the owners to design this substantial addition and remodel of a small cottage in Venice. 
<div>Located within a beautiful historic neighborhood, this design converts a 600 sf one-bedroom 1920s cottage into a 2,100 sf four-bedroom two-story family home. Despite the substantial increase in size, the resulting home maintains the residential feel of the original cottage. We retained a number of quirky original details, while adding a number of contemporary craftsman touches. The interior is modern, yet reflects the history of the home. </div>
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<div>Manual Labor successfully led the project through a contentious permit process with many stakeholders, including the City of Los Angeles LADBS, Venice Coastal Planning, Office of Historic Resources, Venice Neighborhood Council and the California Coastal Commission. The project was ultimately sold before construction. We continue to work with the same owners on a number of projects.</div>

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<a href="http://www.sizlstudio.com/" target="_blank">SIZL Studio</a> designed a home for a growing family in Alameda and came to us with a design for some built-in storage and details. We worked together to fabricate solid walnut floating shelves that taper towards the front and have a kerf pattern, designed by SIZL Studio, which is reflected in the solid walnut drawer fronts of the built-in bench below. We also made a beautiful walnut mantle with kerfs that carry the lines of the tile through the walnut.

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We worked with chef Anthony Strong, previously of Le Bernardin, Delfina and Locanda, to design and open his first restaurant. <a href="http://prairiesf.com/">Prairie</a> is in the heart of San Francisco&#8217;s Mission District and serves lively &#8220;new-school Italian&#8221; fare. To complement the menu, we partnered with our close friends at <a href="https://holdenarchitecture.com/">Holden Architecture</a> to quickly transform a dim, masculine whiskey bar into a bright but intimate restaurant space. 
Every inch of the existing ash tables and bar top were stripped, reused and resurfaced to make the tables, benches and dividers. Manual Labor&#8217;s fabrication shop made the three part benches. We recommend you grab a comfortable seat at the end of the bench with the dog leg and order a tasty Highball or an Italian Greyhound before tucking into your meal.

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The Donut Rack is gentle on clothing with rounded over solid walnut “hooks” and blackened steel hardware.
ML collaborated with <a href="http://www.chothompson.com/">Atelier Cho Thompson</a> on two pieces for the <a href="https://diffa.org/">Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids</a> benefit auction. This coat rack was our design contribution.

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Constructed of Red Elm and custom veneered panels with large compound-angle facets, this case was produced to house shoes for a family of four.

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Manual Labor worked with Mr. Izumi Motai of <a href="https://www.takarasake.com/verify?destination=node/56" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Takara Sake</a> to produce a half-circle shaped bar with a 2.5” thick solid VG Douglas Fir top. The bar separates into two quarter circle sections as needed for their Berkeley, CA tasting room.

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We designed these portable TV stands for Capital One. We strived for elegance and simplicity to provide traveling displays that are lightweight, stable, and easy to break down for shipping. The &#8220;spine&#8221; is the largest element and its size determined the size of each three-unit crate. The TV support brackets can be repositioned to support a 65&#8243; TV horizontally and a 36&#8243; TV vertically. Mark at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nicholsondesignfab/">Nicholson Design &amp; Fabrication</a> provided the metal fabrication.
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(the image from Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki&#8217;s Studio Ghibli is just used for fun &#8230; the copyright is theirs and theirs alone)

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The <a href="http://www.caminorestaurant.com/">Camino</a> team asked us to work with them to develop the layout and then fabricate the fixtures for their new restaurant, <a href="http://www.thekebaberyoakland.com/">The Kebabery</a>, in the Longfellow neighborhood of Oakland. The goals of the project were to make a warm and inviting space, be scrappy, and have some fun. One of the things this lead to is the clear pink acrylic sign on the outside of the building. The sign, logo, and their copious use of colored tape throughout the restaurant has made hot pink a clear brand for The Kebabery. Almost a year into the life of the project, it&#8217;s evident that the neighborhood has taken to the restaurant, and that head Chef Traci Matsumoto-Esteban is producing consistently wonderful food.
Starting from their initial plans we made some adjustments to the layout and then began testing bench seating designs that would be comfortable without additional padding. Using large slabs of sugar pine, we fabricated counters, storage, tables, and 40&#8217;+ of continuous bench seating. The steel bases to the benches were fabricated by our frequent collaborator Ryan &amp; Sons, powdercoated with a hammertone power tool green.
<a href="http://www.lam3d.com/">Katherine Lam</a> led a Furniture Production II at California College of the Arts to work with the Camino team, and her four students (Nathaniel Hedges, Stephen Moore, Kjetil Smedal, &amp; Malachai Trent) designed, tested, and produced a set of eight white oak and steel chairs. One is placed at each table in the restaurant. The backs have a nice give to them that really makes them a comfortable seat.
If you haven&#8217;t been here yet we&#8217;d highly recommend it, <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/story/us-restaurants-we-travel-for">Condé Nast Traveler</a> agrees. You&#8217;re likely to run into one of us and our families enjoying a great meal.