神路屋/kamijiya

It was a corporate project to create display furniture with long-established company called "SUZUKI SHOFUDO," where they deal with Japanese traditional paper in Kyoto. The theme of the furniture is to use only paper both for framework and design. With paper's workability and flexibility, we derived one unique form after spending a couple of months to study full-scale honeycomb-shaped frameworks which would compensate weakness of paper.

As the client's shop is located in "OKAGE YOKO-CHO" in Ise city, a very traditional and historical place which has been protected since the ancient time, the texture and softness of paper tables and lighting seemed well-accommodated to the Japanese-style building despite of their rather modern shapes.

Not only paper lighting but also paper table is portable and foldable just like "Sensu," Japanese folding fan. We took advantage of paper's nature, which were considered as weakness, and turned them around to perfect furniture for the shop with a long and distinguished history.