Design
Nature
#shade
#crayons
#surroundings
#Playfool
#timber
Photographs by Shot by Kusk. All photos © Playfool, shared with permission
Japan is roofed in practically 70 p.c forest, a outstanding statistic at a time when demand for timber continues to rise and concrete developments develop. In at the moment’s age of world commerce, nevertheless, we will ship whole woodlands throughout oceans, impacting provide chains and altering how native sources are utilized. And since importing timber from elsewhere is usually extra inexpensive, timber minimize regionally can go unused. “Japan mainly has an excessive amount of wooden,” says Daniel Coppen, who co-founded the design studio Playfool with Saki Maruyama.
In 2021, Coppen and Maruyama participated in a residency sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, throughout which they have been launched to the nation’s distinctive surplus. Interviews with myriad individuals related to the forest merchandise trade, from lumber-yard staff to furnishings makers, supplied invaluable perception into the pure, industrial, and industrial ecosystems of the nation’s timber.
Throughout their analysis, the duo collected branches, leaves, and logs, which they took again to the studio for experiments with shaving, boiling, mixing—even tasting. In addition they floor the fabric down into a really advantageous powder, which drew their consideration to the inherent number of hues. From the powders, a choice of pigments emerged, and “Forest Crayons” have been born.
Blended with melted wax, the pigments are forged in molds to create sticks that may be simply dealt with. Colours mirror the kind of tree that creates every distinctive shade, from Bogwood and Cedar to Magnolia and Cypress. Whereas the crayons are at the moment offered out in Playfool’s store, scroll right down to discover the meticulous course of of constructing each in a video produced by V&A.
#shade
#crayons
#surroundings
#Playfool
#timber
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