While many countries are actively planting more trees to combat deforestation, Japan is taking a different approach by figuring out how to repurpose its abundant timber. Nearly 70% of Japan is covered in forest, with around twice as many tree species than in European or North American woodlands. With so much natural material available, designers Daniel Coppen and Saki Maruyama of Playfool recently found a creative use for it by creating a set of Forest Crayons.
Coppen and Maruyama began their research during a residency sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. During this time, they learned that “Japan basically has too much wood” and started experimenting with various types of timber to explore its potential uses. They shaved, boiled, blended, and even tasted it. Eventually, they ground the wood down to a very fine powder and discovered that each species had its own distinct hue or pigment. That’s when the idea for the Forest Crayons came to life.
The pair sourced wood from all over Japan, combined the ground-up natural pigments with melted wax, and poured the mixture into molds to create the crayons. “Each set includes ten crayons, each with a color derived solely from a different species of tree native to Japan such as cedar, hazenoki and katsura,” the designers say on their website. “By repurposing Japan’s otherwise wasted timber as a source of pigment, Forest Crayons breathes new life into the country’s abundant wood resources, allowing one to appreciate and create with the forest like never before.”
When used on paper, the Forest Crayons create beautiful, subtle markings in natural hues. This set is perfect for anyone looking to create nature-inspired drawings using materials that are literally sourced from nature itself.
Forest Crayons are currently available for pre-order on Playfool’s online shop.
The Forest Crayons by Playfool are made using real timber from Japan’s diverse forests.
Nearly 70 percent of Japan is covered in forest, resulting in an overabundance of wood.
Each crayon is made by grinding up different species of tree wood to create a pigment, which is then mixed with melted wax.
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h/t: [Moss and Fog]
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