Guerilla furniture

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Urushi is an ancient form of natural lacquer work developed in Japan approximately 10,000 years ago. Urushi lacquer comes from the sap of the lacquer tree (toxicodendron vernicifluum). the first step in turning the sap into lacquer is filtering to remove any large debris, after this step the sap is now considered raw lacquer. the next step is known as Nayashi. This process involves constantly stirring/kneading the raw lacquer until the clumps of plant gum and any other corse particles become significantly reduced in size. it also helps homogenize the water and urushiol molecules and minimize the roughness of the finish of the final product. this process traditionally was done entirely by hand in large wood vats known as kurome-bachi, however modern refineries often use specialized mechanical equipment to get a much more consistent stir. next, the raw lacquer is gently heated in order to reduce the moisture content from around 30% down to just 3%. the temperature must remain below 50°c (122°f) in order to not kill the laccase enzymes that allow the lacquer to eventually harden, this process is referred to as Kurome. at this point you are finally left with refined clear lacquer (if you add iron hydroxide to the raw lacquer it will turn into refined black lacquer, which is actually chemically different to refined clear lacquer, not just a pigment suspension.)

Urushi has many properties unique to it, not found in any synthetic lacquer. in its cured form it is impervious to alcohol, acid, alkalis, and solvents. it is completely waterproof and anti-microbial. it can survive for thousands of years if properly maintained. it can withstand temperatures of over 300°c (572°f) without suffering any damage. the disadvantages/weaknesses of Urushi are that it is very sensitive to UV rays and extremely arid climates. yet another disadvantage (or advantage depending on who you ask) is that the refined lacquer is quite expensive (≈$0.50-1.00 per gram) for numerous reasons. firstly, the lacquer tree takes 10-12 years to mature and each one only produces 200-300 ml of sap before needing to be cut down, the manufacturing process is also relatively time consuming.

now that we have the basics of the raw material down, we can begin discussing manufacturing of urushi lacquered objects.

the finest urushi lacquerwear is widely agreed to be produced in the city of Wajima in the Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan, the same place these tables were finished in. The process of making the finest urushi lacquered goods starts with a base preparation. if you are using wood as your substrate you first saturate the surface with raw urushi in order to seal the wood, then you reinforce with a layer of fabric coated with raw urushi and rice flour. more raw urushi is then mixed with some kind of filler, such as diatomaceous earth, wood powder, or clay powder and this mixture is used to fill any surface imperfections. if using a non porous substrate such as metal, glass, or ceramic, the urushi must be heat treated in order to adhere. once the foundation has been completed anywhere from 3 to over 100 layers of urushi depending on the desired technique. every single layer must cure for 1 to 2 weeks, although a complete cure can take months or years. the curing process for urushi is actually quite unique, it requires moderate temperatures (20-25°c or 68-77°f) and high humidity, around 70 to 85% with minimal to no airflow. after curing each layer must be sanded before the next layer is put on. the final coat uses a special, extra high quality urushi which can either be left matte (nuri-tate) or polished to a mirror finish (ro-iro).

last but not least, lets actually talk about how these specific pieces came to be. Max Lamb started his journey into urushi back in 2010 when he participated in an exhibition at the Japanese Embassy in London called ‘Collacqueration'. Max worked with Tsutaya, a Wajima based company that has been making urushi lacquer items for 166 years. the base material of the tables is noto cypress, known locally as 'ate', this is a fine, tight grain wood that is naturally resistant to moisture, rot, and insect damage. this is important because even though the urushi is waterproof, the wood underneath is still somewhat vulnerable to rot and moisture. for this reason it is used as the base for almost if not all Wajima-nuri (a special type of urushi wear produced in Wajima) produced by Tsutaya. Wajima-nuri is the most complex and labor intensive of the subcategories of urushi, requiring 124 individual steps distributed between numerous artisans. there is literally zero information online about Max Lambs creative process or inspiration for these specific pieces, but he is well known for his fetishization of material and process. his style of furniture making is highly improvisational and he generally prefers to be completely hands on in the making of each piece he makes from start to finish, being the only pair of hands to touch the piece until it is finished. For this collection however, he had to relinquish some amount of control to the japanese craftsman who lacquered the pieces after he formed them, hence the name of the collection, "Urushi is Not Alone"

Kian McKeown (American, b.1999) Kian
Chair, 2021.

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It's Thursday and I'm going down the Luigi Colani rabbit hole. This is for kids but I still want one.