Shoji
Lamp

This lamp was one of the reasons I started woodworking.

It was not the first thing I wanted to make. It was the thing I wanted to be able to make. From the first idea to the finished object it took nearly two years.

The entire structure holds without glue and without nails. Only through a wooden joint that has to be precise to work at all. With this kind of joint, every hundredth of a millimeter matters.

The most important detail is the joint at the top corner. At first glance it is not clear which piece of wood passes through which. It looks almost impossible. That is exactly the kind of craft that makes it worth picking up a chisel.

Gluing two pieces of wood together is not craft. Japanese masters build solid structures without glue and without nails. Not because they have no other option. But because they understand wood, grain direction, pressure and patience. That is why #nonails.

The frame is American walnut. Inside, a spruce kumiko panel. Walnut holds the shape of the object. Spruce lets the light through.

Each panel is slightly different. Some needed thin shims to sit properly in the walnut frame. I left it that way. The hand is visible.

The light panel was designed around the golden ratio. I kept the golden ratio where it matters most for the object — in the light.

Inside is a warm white LED. The lamp is not meant to light a room. It is meant to create calm and warmth.

The surface is finished with oil and beeswax. Not for the shine. More for the touch.

A gift that was never given.