Wooden Utensils and Vessels by Hiroyuki Sugawara

I came across these stunning utensils and vessels over the weekend thanks to maker Hiroyuki Sugawara from Japan. All of his woodworkings come out of his studio titled Greenlight in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, where he works on crafting these pieces by hand. Hiroyuki originally came from a background in product design but decided to set up a small workshop when he retired, I think you’ll all agree that he produces some wonderful objects that have an abundance of character.

I’m not going to lie, I tend to be a bit of a sucker for the markings on these sorts of products, where you can see the chisel or the knife shaving the wood. You often get this on bowls where they’ve tried to round off the sides by hand using a tool, I think it’s because you can let your imagine run away with the techniques that they’ve used. Also, you can really respect a piece when you can see the hard graft that’s gone into it and the precision/detail it takes. The above item for example is a plate to hold solid foods, it’s really lovely how it curves upwards in such an angelic way, I also like the fact that the grain runs with the plate itself and it also replicates the form and texture of the tree in general. It makes you feel like you’re in touch with the origins of the wood.

Another set that’s great are the pasta forks and spoons, the selection in the third image is particularly incredible, it shows how intricate he is with his tools. Nearly everyone looks exactly the same which is no mean feat, this takes many hours of practice and skill. Overall I’m really impressed with these and they’re definitely going into my catalogue of inspiration, one that’s bursting at the seams right now. I’m going to pick up some pieces like this very soon for my kitchen and home as I think they’re all high quality and functional at the same time. Plus, if I don’t use them they will look great sitting on the side as a story piece to tell people about the craftsman and how he/she made them.

www.greenlighter.web.fc2.com

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