Maple wood used for Storio mouse pads , electronic money clips, business card holders, fountain pen cases , etc.
It is necessary to obtain advanced bending and beautiful bark with stable quality.
Therefore, in each process, we cooperate with each supplier and strive to obtain the right materials.
Yamashi selects trees suitable for bending one by one
Most of the materials are 100-year-old Itaya maple trees in the vicinity of Amakazari Sanroku in Itoigawa City, Niigata Prefecture.
It was originally a satoyama for collecting firewood, but the demand for firewood disappeared and it was abandoned.
If the Japanese maple grows any larger, the tree itself will rot, releasing carbon dioxide.
The heavy snow of Niigata creates heather and gives light to the product. It is called a precious wood because it does not appear on all wood, as it is the root that shows a lot of heather.
It is the yamashi (finding the wood of the required quality, searching for the owner, and even negotiating the sale) to determine which wood is suitable for bending. We enter the deep mountains of Niigata and select each one.
Carried out by loggers
After selection, about 4 loggers are arranged to cut the trees. It is cut into pieces, unloaded to the mountain road, loaded and transported.
Prompt sawing to secure beautiful lumber, processing, and production
Hardwood is prone to discoloration and mold growth inside, so it is quickly milled about a week after felling.
It is then dried and treated with a polymer to ensure strength and a beautiful bark.
After that, the processes of thin plate lumbering, NC processing, bending, polishing, painting, assembly, packaging, shipping, and quality control are started. The manufacturing process is manual work.
Storio, a wooden product born from the forest, makes the most of the mountain
Broad-leaved trees in deep forests are not only difficult to maintain, but also have fewer uses and are often left unattended.
However, a tree that grows in deep snow for many years produces unexpectedly beautiful wood grains over a long period of time.
Also, when the wood surface is dyed white, it becomes very beautiful, and depending on how it is processed and used, it can be reborn as a very attractive product.
And the skills of yamashi (mountain masters) and loggers on steep slopes, who are rare today, are a valuable part of the culture of working in the mountains.
The trees in the forest were originally used by the mountain people as building materials and firewood. We believe that the logging we do will help restore the forest and pass on the culture of the mountains.