For the pens that

disappear on light wood

Hi everyone, this is Taka!

Masayoshi Kanematsu carves our Wagatabon trays one at a time from a single block of Japanese chestnut, with a hand chisel. Until now we have had them in natural, dark brown and black. This batch is dyed with indigo, the same dye that makes denim blue.

Getting to this blue took more than one attempt. Indigo does not behave on wood the way it behaves on cloth, and he kept working at it until it came out like this. Nothing is painted on the surface. You are looking at chestnut that has taken the color.

The difference shows when you put a pen in one. Against natural chestnut a black lacquer pen tends to sink into the grain. Against indigo it does not, and the gold in a maki-e pattern is the first thing you see.

There are five in the slim size and five in the wide.

Carved first, dyed after

He cuts every groove before the tray is dyed, so the indigo sits inside each chisel mark rather than on a flat surface. The grain reads through it, and the ridges keep a paler line along the top. The finish is the same on every tray. The wood decides how deep the blue goes.

Wagatabon Pen Tray, Slim

Indigo. Takes four pens.

Wagatabon Pen Tray, Wide

Indigo. Takes six pens.

Every order is wrapped by hand in furoshiki cloth. If you have a question about the finish, just reply to this email. It comes straight to me.

Warmly,

Taka