History 2
② The thin and strong egg-shaped Cara series
Sasaki: I'd like to ask about each series. First, what kind of series is Cara?
Ono: When I first met Takahashi, he was already making Kami Glass. When I spoke to him, he said, "If I were to work with you, I would like to use wood from Hokkaido to make something that looks like wooden vessels. I would like to make use of the characteristics of wood." At first, I wondered what "a vessel that looks like wooden vessels" would be, and drew and tore dozens of sketches. Then, I talked with Daiji, and we decided that Takahashi's skill, above all else, is being able to shave wood thinly, and that this is what made Kami Glass possible, so we definitely wanted to make use of that skill. But what does a shape that looks like wood mean? Ah, it's an eggshell!
Sasaki: It's a bit of a leap, I can't keep up... (laughs)
Ono: Well... for example, a straight shape like a paper cup is prone to buckling, or rather, is weak against lateral forces. That's because it's linear. But if the sides are three-dimensionally curved, they can be made strong even if they are made of soft or thin materials. A typical example of this shape is an eggshell. I see! It would be cute if it was thin and round like an egg! I quickly drew a sketch and showed it to Goto Tetsunori of the Asahikawa City Crafts Center, who was visiting Tokyo at the time. He said, "This is great! I'll fax it to Takahashi," and ran off to a convenience store (laughs).
All: lol
Ono: When Takahashi received the fax, he said, "Okay, I'll make this right away!"
Sasaki: That's a good story.
Takahashi: Also, we also set up a family at the beginning, with a couple and a child, and we asked them what kind of tableware they would like to have in the morning.
Ono: Yes, I did. I imagined a life similar to that of Daiji and me, around the same generation.
Takahashi: We had a lot of discussions before Cara was made.
Ono: I had in mind making dishes for breakfast, so the idea of "eggs" was easy to connect with.
Takahashi: "If you're a couple with kids, and you're all eating breakfast together, for example, it would be nice to have a gentle feeling," I said, and made this shape with my hands (motion of holding something with both hands), and I had an image of "it should look something like this," and then the egg shape I mentioned earlier was sent to me by fax, and I started looking for materials. When I was thinking of a gentle shape, I wondered what material would go well with the shape of an egg. At first, I was imagining silver maple. But silver maple was unavailable at the time, and I thought I might be able to get some Chinese linden wood, so I decided to go with Chinese linden.
Ono: At first, you said that the wood wasn't suitable for making vessels.
Takahashi: It's not that it's not suitable for vessels, but rather that the image of Chinese plywood and Chinese lumber is so strong that it gives the impression of being a cheap material.
Daiji: We didn't really have any preconceived notions about that.
Ono: Yes.
Takahashi: So when I told the people around me, I asked, "Why make it out of linden wood?" and they said, "It's such cheap wood." It's not cheap. You can buy it in blocks. But the image I had of it was linden plywood, which doesn't have a very nice feel, so at first the craftsmen and furniture makers around me kind of laughed at it, but when I made a prototype, it was perfect! I thought this material was perfect for the design shape that I had in mind and probably what Ono had in mind, so I decided to just ignore the opinions of those around me! (Laughs) I think that's how it went. Anyway, I remember there were a lot of phone and email exchanges before Ono first came up with the egg idea.
