Urushi - Japanese Lacquer Art has been around for 9000 years and is becoming more recognized around the world. While being well-known for its surreal glossy finish and sophisticated look, Urushi has also been known for its delicate characteristic. Yet, what if we tell you that there is a way to bring the art of Urushi to a whole new step?
Throughout its history, Urushi art has developed drastically, both in its complication and technique. Needless to say, every technique requires a great level of skills, dedication, and time. Thus, even after being finished, each piece of Urushi's work needs to be cherished and treated with the utmost care, to preserve its beauty for a long time.
For the last two years, Wancher’s Research and Development Team has been experimenting with a new element that can greatly improve the characteristic of Urushi. Now, we proudly introduce to you: CNF or Cellulose Nanofibers - the world’s most advanced biomass material, made out of wood-derived fiber pulp that has been refined into nano-level.
What makes CNF truly a remarkable material is its properties - lightweight, high durability, and unique appearance. When combined with raw Urushi and applied on a fountain pen, the final product will achieve a stronger base, more durable finish, not to mention its unexpectedly mesmerizing feel on the touch of the hand (風合い). These will add all the finest qualities that can help your Urushi artwork last for generations after generation.
Furthermore, CNF brings us a huge advantage of low carbon emission production. Especially this time, thanks to our new co-operation with Oita University, we were able to obtain a special type of CNF, derived from bamboo fiber. As bamboo possesses a highly effective carbon absorption in its early year, extracting and making CNF from bamboo will greatly facilitate the environmental movement in the modern days. Therefore, we cannot wait to show you how we have been using and experimenting with it in Wancher's future products.
Even though we could not show you the final product just yet, we are extremely excited to think about the upcoming possibility to work with this advanced material. The time is near when we can introduce to the world our proud Japanese Urushi fountain pens in a new form!
Please stay tuned for our progress as we embark on this new adventure with you!
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ReferencesJapan Environmental Management Association for Industry (JEMAI) Nikkei Inc. (n.d.). EcoPro 2017 -International exhibition on environment and energy-: 環境とエネルギーの未来展. エコプロ2017 環境とエネルギーの未来展.