all photos by Hiroto Gozaoka courtesy Morito Project
Morito Project is an initiative aimed at highlighting the circular relationship between forests and woodworkers. Specifically, designer Shinnosuke Harada worked with artisans to source hinoki wood that was leftover from the thinning process. While necessary to cultivate healthy forests, wood leftover from the thinning process is typically discarded as it is considered sub-standard. But the designer came up with a range of lifestyle products that could be made from the wood, each inspired by the forest itself. The collection was on display at the Milan Furniture Fair this week.
Enoki Light
This adorable lamp borrows its name and resemblance from enoki, the long and skinny mushroom found in bundles and attached to a root. Popular in Japanese cuisine, this iteration provides subtle mood lighting reminiscent of bioluminescent mushrooms.
Chochin Stool
The Chochin Stool takes one of Japan’s most-iconic sources of lighting and reinterprets it as a stool. Simple yet brilliantly executed, the stool can serve as a seat but also a night table.
Mikazuki Sakazuki
These light and delicate nesting sake cups (sakazuki) have a silhouette the resembles a crescent moon (mikazuki).
This week we’re highlighting some of our favorite Japanese designs from Milan Design Week (June 7 – 12, 2022). You can check out some of our past coverage here.
June 14, 2022 at 9:46 pm
I feel like I’d accidentally put my heel through the paper when sitting on that stool!
June 18, 2022 at 7:41 pm
I’d like to see a bunch of enoki lights as a wall sconce.