ReFa

ReFa BRISTLEOAK

The roundness and comfortable feel of the handles are created by the process of carving.

The rounded handle accentuates the warmth of the wood's texture, and the high-quality wood handle requires advanced production equipment and the handiwork of experienced craftsmen.

Karimoku, the company that produced the handles for this project, calls it “high-tech and high-touch,” combining the strengths of machines with those that can only be achieved by handwork.

The warmth of the wood's texture is enhanced by checking the feel and grip with the human hand. The technique of laminating is used to ensure that no wood is wasted.

Wooden handles are created using a laminating technique that has been cultivated to avoid wasting the originality of the grain that appears in each piece of wood.

Oak wood has excellent durability, water resistance, and a beautiful appearance.

The unique grain and uneven coloring of each individual joint and natural wood can be enjoyed as a precious taste.

The brass stand complements the wooden handle and protects the boar bristles.

The casting technique has been passed down from generation to generation. Casting is a metalworking process in which raw materials are heated to a temperature higher than their melting point, turned into a liquid, poured into a mold, and cooled to harden into the desired shape. The size of the sand grains in the mold gives the surface a unique texture.

The brass, originally blended by “Nosaku,” which produced the brush rest, is 60% copper and 40% zinc, which gives it a beautiful golden color that changes with use. The color changes as it is used, giving it an antique patina and increasing attachment. Compactly placed real boar bristles that polish cuticles prevent friction and make hair shinier the more it is used.

The boar bristles are tightly planted in a circle with a diameter of 5 cm. The shape of the brush does not look like a brush, but the hard boar bristles are applied to give your hair a realistic finish.

Unlike nylon pins, boar bristles contain oil and moisture, which prevents friction with hair when combing.

 

ReFa HEART KYOTO

Lacquer is a naturally occurring paint extracted from the poison oak tree.

Lacquerware made by applying several coats of lacquer has a soft and warm texture that is said to be very close to the texture of human skin.

Drying is an important process in the production of lacquerware. The secret of this texture lies in the drying process, the most important step in the production of lacquerware.

Each time a layer of lacquer is applied to a piece of lacquerware, it is dried in a highly humid place. Lacquer dries (hardens) as it absorbs moisture. As the amount of moisture in the lacquer increases, the transparency and luster of the lacquer increases.

The design is rich in taste, with a sense of wabi and sabi, which is associated with the culture of the tea ceremony. The more the lacquer is used, the more the surface is polished by friction with the hand, and the more vivid the color becomes. As the lacquer continues to absorb moisture from the air and harden, its transparency and luster become more beautiful. 

ReFa HEART TOYAMA

The handle is decorated with "Aogai-nuri", a delicate mother-of-pearl inlay technique that changes color depending on the angle at which the light hits it.

Takaoka Raden (mother of pearl inlay work), also called "Aogai-nuri", is a technique to express various designs using blue shells that emit vivid rainbow colors in a deep black luster.

The thinly cut blue shells show through the black background, accentuating the gradation of colors created by the interference of light, called structural colors.

The beauty brought out by the delicate technique. This time, we used Japanese natural abalone shells, which have a beautiful shine among blue shells.

The black background is shaved to a thickness of less than 0.1mm and cut into the shape of petals.

This time, black paint is applied to the backside of each petal to bring out the maximum brilliance of the blue shell. The design is a lovely cherry blossom pattern of a series of hearts in bloom.

The heart shape of the ReFa HEART BRUSH is made to look like a petal, and the cherry blossoms and their dancing petals are expressed in mother-of-pearl inlay.

The curved line technique of the petals was developed by mother-of-pearl inlay work in Takaoka. Originally, only straight lines were used for raden in thin shells.

The raden technique was made possible by mother-of-pearl inlay artists in Takaoka, who cut out the raden delicately like in a painting.