We happened to visit the fairly vacant US Muji site and came across an interesting press release. It seems that a limited number of wall mounted CD players are available for purchase at MUJI SOHO starting today. We immediately recognized this as one of Naoto Fukasawa’s contributions to MUJI. This would be absolutely fantastic next to a bed, especially with the right disc art.

Disk can be played and turned off by simply pulling the power cable. The item features internal speakers, volume control, and search keys. USA version of the Wall Mounted CD player has remodeled to be USA outlet capable. Retail price $178. W6.9 x D1.6 x H6.9 inches. The Volume and search controls are situated on the top of the CD player.

MUJI SOHO is located at 455 Broadway New York, NY 10013

You can expect this to be huge. Japanese retailer MUJI, which has stores in many other parts of the world, makes its US debut this November. The store will be located in New York at 455 Broadway. A flagship in Midtown Manhattan is slated to open next year. MUJI products are minimal (in form and color), unbranded, and extremely inexpensive. Literally translated, Mujirushi Ryohin, MUJI’s original name, means “no brand quality goods”. To get an idea of their products you can visit the UK online store. The images shown are of MUJI stores in Tokyo. A limited number of MUJI products have been available domestically through the MoMA Store but the new store will offer over 2,000 items. Many of them come from the minds of design greats such as Naoto Fukasawa, Jasper Morrison and Enzo Mari.

MUJI represents a return to modernism’s roots in mass produced low cost goods. The website offers these seemingly ironic thoughts, “Because there is complexity in purity. Elegance in plainness. Intricacy in streamlining. Richness in reduction. Depth in minimalism. Surprise in uniformity. Innovation in re-use. Cool in the avoidance of cool. And there is true sophistication in simplicity.”

London based industrial design firm Industrial Facility has designed a coffee maker for Muji. The cylindrical design was achieved by wrapping the water reservoir around the filter. A non-directional design ensures that it will look good from all sides. The coffee maker features a vacuum stainless steel pot five with five cup capacity.

Japanese manufacturer MUJI (short for “Mujirushi Ryohin,” meaning “No Brand Goods”) produces these minimal cases. The 20 year-old company believes in being environmentally concious through minimal processing of goods and efficient packaging. This approach has the added benefit of producing low cost modern designs. The two-compartment case (left) will hold ten cards on one side and ten on the other, presumably for yours and theirs, and sells for $14. The single compartment case sells for $8. Both have a matte aluminum finish and can be purchased here.