This project was initiated as a program to support Yamagiwa’s new challenge to establish an export business by developing its own line-ups, in addition to its role as an important lighting-importing dealer in the Japanese market. From the start, we all knew that to produce something competitive for export, we needed originality, and we also wanted to support local craftsmen, who are declining in population. O-light is handcrafted in northern Japan, made by bending Japanese cedar into layers and weaving it together with cherry wood bark. It is the same technique that is used to produce traditional bento boxes. I love this technique, and the final shape naturally follows what is optimal for the making.