The sweet scent of cedar lingers thick in the midsummer air. One by one, woodworker Masaru Kawai draws from his collection of hand planes, some barely the size of his palm, before a series of smooth movements send another stream of wafer-like strips curling onto the benchtop. For all of its simplicity, this process draws the attention of designers Eefiene Bolhuis and Eva Gevaert, not only for the way it conjures textures, forms and scents from within a solitary block of wood, but for the almost meditative way in which it is undertaken.
As the first designers invited to develop a product for the Tokyo Craft Room project, the co-founders of Amsterdam-based product design studio De Intuïtiefabriek are in the midst of their field research, delving into the making process of their Japanese collaborator. Developing products ranging from handcrafted works to commercial collections, the designers work in an intuitive manner whereby they allow materials and techniques to guide the design process. Factories, workshops and other places of production, such as Kawai’s space in Minokamo, Gifu, are where their ideas begin to take shape.
“We try to find the edge of what’s possible,” explains Gevaert. “When a maker says, ‘That’s going to be really difficult’, it starts a conversation about adapting techniques and creating new kinds of making, which can lead to some surprising elements and details.”
This desire to explore the possibilities of materials and techniques is shared by Kawai, who is driven by a desire to reshape how Japanese wood is perceived. Through his brand Soma, the woodworker develops products using cedar and hinoki cypress, coniferous trees that were planted in abundance after World War II and subsequently underutilised.Also working as an independent artist he develops one-off pieces informed by select pieces of wood and their origins.
For Bolhuis and Gevaert, research often involves undertaking their own excavations ― gathering artefacts to reference throughout the design process ― and so the opportunity to venture beyond the Minokamo workshop and explore Kawai’s broader activities revealed a new layer of interest within his work ― the strong desire to tell stories. Learning about the region’s history of woodworking, forestry and crafts, such as traditional Mino paper, laid the foundation for spending time in the forest and understanding how Kawai’s studies of local species, soil and conditions play a role in his practice.
“Our first ideas were more about techniques and making, but we now feel that there should be other layers to our design,” says Bolhuis. “The forest is so important and so we should focus on it, really dive into it, before we go on with the design process.”
In addition to a collection of leaves, bark and other artefacts foraged from the mountains, the field research also provided the designers with a sensory library ― the scent of different woods, the feel of hand-finished surfaces, the lines of the forest ― to draw upon as they move forward with the design. These new encounters, coupled with a deeper understanding of Japanese craftsmanship, will no doubt inform the stories they choose to communicate through their collaboration.
>>Continued in Story 2
De Intuïtiefabriek
De Intuïtiefabriek is a design studio since 2012 in Amsterdam with a vision based on their intuitive way of working in which the use of materials and techniques are essential. They bring them to create within different fields of design; from slipcasting porcelain to blowing glass and bending wood. The outcomes vary from furniture to tableware. To De Intuïtiefabriek designing is all about craftsmanship, the touch of material and the actual act of making things. Their aim is to create perfectly crafted products, from which you can feel the love with which they were made. They create a pure, precise and elegant feeling, taking the observer into a new world.
SOMA
SOMA is a lifestyle brand focusing on the products made of coniferous. The director is Mr. Masaru Kawai, a Japanese wood artist. He established that with the aim to communicate Japanese ancient wooden culture to the present age. The brand has a wide range of activities related to wooden culture, including selling original products, workshops, and talk shows.“SOMA” is originated from the word “杣 (soma)”, the name of people who lived and worked with woods in the mountains in Japan.
“Ranma” Cabinet
Size:
W1100 H1800 D400 mm
Material:
国産杉、美濃和紙 / Japanese cedar , Japanese “Mino” Paper
Price:
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