I really love shopping at Muji (we have a few in the Beijing area); the products are simple, high quality, and relatively affordable (more expensive than Target and IKEA, but cheaper than a good department store). As stated in the article, their aesthetics are strictly earthy, they avoid wild colors, which works well for home goods, I think.
Things to look for at Muji if one moves into your town:
Linens (sheets, pillows, blanket covers) and towels are pretty soft.
Silverware (the spoons are awesome, I've never seen anything so well balanced).
Cleaning tools. Finding a decent broom in Beijing is really hard since no one cleans their own house...so Muji it is (the broom is small but has an articulate joint, can accept multiple extensions).
Pens. I really don't get this one, even the standard pens I buy in the states don't seem to write as smoothly, and of course in China there aren't any better options.
Yet another MUJI fanatic here. The San Francisco store gets my recurrent patronage.
I would also recommend their furniture - I have a very comfortable bed and floor chair from there, and their recliner seat is terribly comfortable (but sadly I do not have the space for it in my tiny SF bedroom)
The only downside is that after you've been shopping to MUJI in Japan, you realize that you do pay a premium in the US. Oh well, worth it.
Living in NYC, I can vouch Muji is my best reasonably-priced readily-available option for most of those things, and thus all of them but the silverware (we inherited a full set) are in my current living space. Fascinating that one Japanese store is serving urbanites in both the US and China.
My wife doesn't really understand my obsessions with the spoons. They just feel better than anything I've used before.
Muji has done very well in China, they have them in just about all the good malls. But it is nothing compared to Japan...the Muji in Ginza Tokyo even sells houses!
UK: I'd add their notebooks. Practical (most can fold flat on the table), very reasonably priced, if not super-famous-writer-quality.
I regret that the double ended hexagonal felt-tipped pens are no longer stocked. I've not taught a teenager student who wasn't immediately fascinated by these!
I don't have a Muji near me, but shop on their online store at least a couple of times a year. Some of their stuff is of average quality and not worth bothering with, but some is excellent.
Some favourites:
Their Hakuji porcelain[1] is beautiful, simple crockery that manages to be unassuming without being plain; the slight blueish cast that it has is just lovely. If I didn't have a perfectly good set of plates already, I'd buy a complete set.
The Acrylic Storage range is a little pricey, but lovely, and better-made than the cheaper, no-brand stuff I occasionally see in shops locally.
They used to sell passport-sized notebooks, but discontinued them some time ago. An email to their (excellent) customer service people when they first disappeared from the UK online store was met with assurances that they would be restocked, but sadly this hasn't happened and they've disappeared from the other online stores. I never followed up with customer service, but I think it's clear that they're now completely discontinued.
Their nail-clippers are made in Japan, excellent, and ludicrously cheap.[2] The Sweet Home rates them as ["the best for trimming both fingernails and toenails".
They make a great exfoliating cloth, just over a metre long, which does wonders for your back and skin in general.
They also stock and sell a range of B5-sized notebooks, which are otherwise nearly impossible to find in the UK. The blandly named "B5 Double Ring Notebook"[4] is my favourite notebook ever, and a steal at £2.95 for 80 blank sheets. The range of B5 notebooks offered on their website has contracted in the last year or so, sadly, which is presumably due to poor sales.
High quality? They sell furniture made from cardboard. Spill anything on it and it's destroyed immediately. Pens? Seriously? There pens are no better and arguably worse than just about any pens I'v used. I bought some filing boxes from Muji, they fell apart after a very short use. They also sell mostly tasteless food.
Muji to me is the ultimate scam. They make very crappy products but their color scheme and presentation make it appear nice and people eat it up. I used to be fooled by it myself.
Almost every illustrator, designer, or artist I know really enjoy using their pens. YMMV. Also not sure what furniture you are referring to, but they have a lot made from solid wood. https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Sec=19
Yeah, their .5mm pens are fantastic. I've used them for so long that my handwriting goes weird when I use a different make.
They produce a lovely black line and the ink is quick drying, which for a lefty is vital. I make a special journey every few months to stock up.
The notebooks are good too, though I haven't forgiven them for discontinuing their A5 spiral bound sketchbook years ago, which was perfect. If I had realised it was going away, I'd have gone round every branch in London and bought them all up.
... If I had realised it was going away, I'd have gone round every branch in London and bought them all up.
I feel exactly the same way about their now-discontinued passport notebook. If I'd realised it was in danger of extinction, I'd have bulk-bought every one I could get my hands on.
Tried the pens and love em. Bought a few boxes full of pens, as we don't have a Muji close by and am still insanely happy with them more than a year later. The Pens are a joy to write with. And I'm picky as hell when it comes to pens :)
How do they compare to uni-ball? my current favourite for the last decade or so, especially the micro thin ones. Together with moleskine - it's a match made in heaven. Wondering if anything can top it, but always willing to experiment.
I've never tried their furniture before. Frankly, they try to sell Japanese furniture here, which is just too close to the floor for a dirty place like Beijing.
The pens have a really smooth writing feel to them. If you aren't into writing a lot, you might not notice. The only other pens I can get a similar smoothness feel are the really expensive ones.
The marshmallows are pretty good, oh and the cookies make good snacks. It isn't just special, but quite convenient.
I disagree with your assessment, but do you have any points of comparison?
Mujis products are all cheaply made in China but I wouldn't call it a scam per se. It's applying high end design to low end materials the same as Uniqlo, Ikea etc have done.
Muji in Japan is a bit better, if only because the prices here are more in line with the quality. I agree that most of their stuff looks better than it lasts.
I just visited their brand-new store in Kyoto, and it looks like they're changing in the right way. More selection and hints of better quality.
Reading this as an openly insufferable Muji fanatic (did anyone else see Kazuko Koike at the pre-opening event at the 5th avenue store? it was great!) this was written by a closeted Muji fanatic. I approve. Hopefully they won't dilute their formula by expanding, but really I'd be happy if they just launched the full Japanese line in NYC and SF. And I want to tour some of those Muji homes. Yes, that's how bad I have it.
Things to look for at Muji if one moves into your town:
Linens (sheets, pillows, blanket covers) and towels are pretty soft.
Silverware (the spoons are awesome, I've never seen anything so well balanced).
Cleaning tools. Finding a decent broom in Beijing is really hard since no one cleans their own house...so Muji it is (the broom is small but has an articulate joint, can accept multiple extensions).
Pens. I really don't get this one, even the standard pens I buy in the states don't seem to write as smoothly, and of course in China there aren't any better options.
Snacks.