SIWA

Located in Ichikawamisato, Yamanashi, which boasts a 1000 year history of paper making, the Japanese paper (washi) maker ONAO and industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa have teamed together to create the SIWA series. Fukasawa discerned that the special texture of Naoron, a hard-to-tear paper developed by ONAO, emerged when the paper was crumpled, and suggested designs for everyday goods that harnessed this. The name SIWA is both a reversing of the characters in the word washi (wasi), and a word meaning, "crinkle" in Japanese. As with leather goods, these washi products are lovingly, individually crafted.