LACQUER, GOLD AND TEA CEREMONY: THE SECRETS OF JAPANESE NATSUME

The beauty of exceptional Japanese craftsmanship is concentrated in a single object that fits in the palm of your hand: jet-black urushi lacquer with a multitude of layers applied week after week, ...

SUNGWOO CHOI'S LEAF ART

Sung Woo Choi's leaf spoons, made from wood patiently carved in his workshop in the north of Seoul, fill us with wonder: they touch something deep inside us, a graceful object that doesn't even nee...

When Japanese craft traditions meet French creativity.

Laurence Vouillemin is the talented designer behind the brand Ikémato. From her travels to Kyoto she learns techniques and brings back gems in the form of left-overs kimono pieces, material fr...

Japan: the art of chusen, a unique textile print

The Maryuku Shoten x Pauline Androlus collaboration revisits the tradition of chusen, a Japanese handcrafted textile print techniques that appeared during the Meiji period. Abstract patterns inspir...

In Asia, following the roads to indigo dyeing

There is this colour which touches our hearts, a colour of evening skies and deep oceans, but also a colour that is as light and transparent as clear water and as soft as forget-me-nots. A mysterio...

Japanese lacquer, the play of light and dark

A lacquered object will always retain the aesthetic awareness of those who know how to take their time, to look at it, to appreciate it not just visually, but with all the senses: the softness of t...

Discovering Chiso, from Kyoto, specialist in kyo yūzen

Since 1555 in Kyoto, Japan, Chiso specialises in kyo yūzen, an absolutely unique artisan kimono painting technique requiring 20 steps and 6 months of work for one piece, mixing rice paste reserves,...

Hiyoshiya, The 170 Year-Old Japanese Wagasa Maker

Japanese umbrella are called wagasa. Less than 10 wagasa makers still exist in Japan, and only one in Kyoto, Hiyoshiya, a 170year-old craft institution. Hiyoshiya continues crafting wagasa but also...