{"id":1309,"date":"2019-04-15T18:10:43","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T18:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.pinkoi.com\/en\/uncategorized\/dynek3an\/"},"modified":"2019-04-15T18:10:43","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T18:10:43","slug":"dynek3an","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.pinkoi.com\/en\/interviews\/dynek3an\/","title":{"rendered":"Ki-ita \u2013 carve your very own wooden spoon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Asahikawa-based interior shop Plan de House<\/a> and siroro design studio\u2019s Shunsuke Kondo have created Ki-Ita<\/a>, a series of small DIY products that can be made into your very own wooden cutlery. Each kit is made from Hokkaido birch and comes with instructions, sandpaper and walnuts \u2013 everything you need to make your very own wooden spoon. Pinkoi travelled to the furniture mecca of Asahikawa to speak with designer Shunsuke Kondo & Plan de House\u2019s store manager Chisato Tokairin to better understand the story behind the collection.<\/p>\n

\u25b2\u00a0Plan de House\u2019s Chisato Tokairin<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Could you tell us a bit about Plan de House?<\/h2>\n

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Plan de House is a select shop in Asahikawa that sells furniture and interior accessories from designers and craftsmen in Japan and around the world. The shop itself is managed by F Drive Design<\/a>, a design company that specializes in custom order furniture and space design, with main clients being hotels and stores in Hokkaido. From time to time, we also work on custom furniture for individual clients\u2019 homes as well as renovations.<\/p>\n

\u25b2\u00a0Located in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, you can find a great selection of design and crafts at Plan de House, ranging from Hokkaido wooden crafts to European furniture.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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How did Ki-Ita<\/a> series first emerge?<\/h2>\n

Aside from stocking designs from other brands, Plan de House also produces our own wooden products \u2013 from custom novelty goods to original, made-to-order small objects. In September 2017, we got an order to make under several thousand pieces of wooden cutlery that were intended to be used as a novelty gift for the opening of a new store. The tight deadline and budget required us to use the CNC machine, which can cut wood in large quantities, to effectively produce a uniform design in a short amount of time. This was the start of Ki-Ita.<\/p>\n

\u25b2\u00a0Wooden spoons cut with a CNC machine. One of the key features of Ki-Ita is how it provides users an experience of making their own cutlery from this plank of wood, already roughly cut into the shape of spoons.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As the novelty items were well-received, we moved to develop this design as one of our original products for Plan de House. However, many questions came up during product development as we realized we needed to redefine the exact meaning of us designing this product: Why do we use wood, not plastic or steel? Why make it in Asahikawa, Hokkaido? How do we differentiate this wooden spoon from those made by artisans who specialize in this?<\/p>\n

\u25b2\u00a0Shunsuke Kondo, furniture designer and CEO of siroro design studio<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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What was the vision behind the Ki-Ita<\/a> series?<\/h2>\n

Over the course of Ki-Ita\u2019s product development, the goal was not to simply make a finished, complete spoon, but explore how to deepen the relationship and understanding people have towards products made out of wood. Asahikawa is surrounded by trees, and as such has historically been home to a strong furniture industry with excellent woodworking techniques. Because of this, it is natural that manufacturers here in Asahikawa make things using high-quality wood \u2013 but that\u2019s not the case in other parts of the world, where there is not much opportunity to come in contact with wood.<\/p>\n

\u25b2\u00a0One of the original pieces of the Ki-Ita series, Wooden Spoon and Case. Most people think \u201cWhat is this?\u201d, and then open the lid to realize that the case contains a spoon carved from a single piece of wood.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In Japan, the term \u201centry furniture\u201d refers to furniture bought knowing that it will eventually be replaced. In a similar vein, the intention behind Ki-Ita is that it can act as a gateway for people to learn about wood and Asahikawa\u2019s furniture. In this case, \u00a0Ki-Ita can be seen as \u201centry wood\u201d, a product that can help people understand wood more before delving into buying wooden furniture.<\/p>\n

This is why we decided to use local Hokkaido birch, a material that is often used in furniture here, but also reasonable cost-wise, strong, and easy to work with. By having users \u2013 especially young ones \u2013 experience the process of shaping their spoon with their own hands, more people will develop a basic understanding of wood through the experience of making, and hopefully eventually over time, to choose the wooden furniture made in Asahikawa for themselves as well. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u25b2\u00a0The Kids\u2019 Wooden Spoon and Frame. Requested by a customer who wanted a kit version for kids with both a fork and spoon, this is the newest product of the Ki-Ita series. Instead of stowing it away once it outgrows its original use, putting it in the frame gives it new life as a memento.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n