claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake

‘kin urushi’ by claesson koivisto rune + skultuna + keikou nishimura lacquer art studio + sfera
all images courtesy of claesson koivisto rune 

 

‘kin urushi’ is a collaborative project between swedish design partnership claesson koivisto rune,  
sweden – based luxury manufacturer skultuna, japanese agency keiko nishimura lacquer art studio
and international branding and design company sfera. the limited edition candle holder has been developed  
to raise funds for those effected by the tohoku region pacific coast earthquake. 100% of the proceeds from
this product with be donated to the cause. 
 
the collection consists of 75 candleholders, 15 each of five different designs, which were developed from
the original brass ‘kin’ set designed by claesson koivisto rune and distributed by skultuna. after skilled craftsman 
prepared the surface of each piece, bamboo handles were temporarily attached. proceeding a week of drying,
a primary lacquer was put on and polished. suruga-charcoal was applied before the next coat was added.
brushing was done with both vertical and horizontal brushstrokes in order to get an even surface. the next step
was ‘hushi-age’, or the removal of dust and small debris from the surface. every six minutes, the candle holders
were rotated for the drying process. after the final coat, the lacquer required 3-4 days to completely dry.
as a finishing touch, gold dust was placed on hand-written numbers and brushed off with a cotton cloth to identify
each of the 75 limited edition pieces.  
‘kin urushi’ is presented at tokyo design week 2011 and available for purchase in kyoto and sfera locations. 
 

claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake
craftsman prepare the surface 

claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake

temporary bamboo handles were glued on to aid with lacquer application process 

claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake

minimum one week of drying is required 

claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake

primary lacquer is applied, and finished with suruga-charcoal, after the next coat is added the surface is checked for particles  

claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake

application ‘blue urushi’ final coating 

claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake
‘hushi-age’ process, or removal of dust or small debris from the surface  

claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake

the final surface coat dried for 3-4 days 

claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake

each piece has been labeled with a serial number in gold dust

claesson koivisto rune: kin urushi candleholder for tohoku region earthquake
a complete set