J Life Gifts (J Wood)

The process of creating a kumiko object for J Life Gifts starts with the planning stage, from the hand-drawn design. The fully analogic process allows the artisan to take extreme care to all details: considering that more than a hundred pieces of wood can be used to make a 10x10 cm object, details are what makes the difference between mass production and craftmanship.
During the drawing process, the artisans will choose the type of wood (usually conifers) and estimate the number of pieces to use to make the object. J Wood goes as far as planning which side of each piece of wood will be facing outwards depending on what part of the object it will be used for.

The planning stage often takes most of the time necessary to create a kumiko object, as anything that needs to be done afterwards only depends on the artisan's skills. Most times, as a kumiko artisan usually takes 10 years to feel worthy of such definition, the manufacturing process is smooth and quick.

In line with the philosophy at J Wood, each kumiko object in the J Life Gifts brand is handmade. For the brand, they opted for relatively simple designs, such as the one you can see on their lamp shade, or patterns that unmistakably convey the unique feel of traditional Japanese shapes, such as in the wooden diffuser. The choice reflects the brand's purpose of providing kumiko objects to a wider audience at more accessible prices, through designs that won't feel obsolete thanks to their simplicity.
While keeping loyal to the fully-hand-made process and the superior quality of the raw materials, J Life Gifts aims to keep the kumiko craft alive and known both in Japan and overseas.