Gen Terao

Born in 1973. After dropping out of high school at the age of 17, he wandered around the Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Italy, and Morocco for about a year. After returning to Japan, he was involved in musical activities for about 10 years. After his band broke up in 2001, he turned to making things, and acquired design and manufacturing skills through self-education and unannounced visits to factories. In 2003, he established BALMUDA Design Limited (the name was changed to BALMUDA Inc. in April 2011). In 2010, he released “GreenFan” which instantly attracted the attention of the home electronics industry. “BALMUDA The Toaster,” the first product in the “Hello Kitchen!” series released in 2015, was awarded the Good Design Gold Award 2015 (Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Award). In January 2017, “BALMUDA The Gohan” was released, which is a rice cooker with a double pot. He is the author of “Ikou Dokonimo Nakatta Houhoude” (Shinchosha).