Gardening and lifestyle brand Niwaki is showcasing a pair of rattan-wrapped shears as part of the Dezeen x Planted collaboration during this year's London Design Festival.
Niwaki, one of the brands selected by Planted's sustainability committee for its commitment to sustainable production, works with respected blacksmiths and craftsmen across Japan to create a range of gardening and lifestyle tools that borrow from the country's design ethos.
"We source and manufacture an extraordinary range of fine garden and woodworking tools, kitchen knives and outdoor gear, priding ourselves not only in the pleasure it brings our customers, but also the knowledge and enthusiasm we share with them," explained the brand, which works from head offices in the English town of Semley, Dorset.
Among the brand's gardening products is the Niwaki S-Type Clippers, which are made by craftsmen in the Japanese city of Sanjō. Featuring three-inch blades and handles wrapped with a single tendril of wisteria rattan, the clippers are meant for clipping and light pruning of plants.
There's also the Niwaki Trug, a honey-leather bag with contrast red stitching that can be filled with foraged fruits and vegetables, and the Moku Trowel and Cultivator, which are hand-forged by a Japanese father-and-son duo.
Wider lifestyle products offered by Niwaki include brass Kenzan pins, which are used in ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging.
Designed to be strong enough to hold green stems and heavier wooden stalks, the pins allow users to follow the "discipline of the traditional ikebana schools – Ohara, Ikenobo – or head off-piste and do their own thing".
Additionally, there's the indigo-hued Kojima work jacket, which is named after and handmade in the port town of Kojima, which is often considered the heartland of Japanese denim.
Dezeen x Planted
Exhibitor: Niwaki
Website: www.niwaki.com
Planted is a contemporary design event, which aims to reconnect cities with nature, which will make its physical debut as part of London Design Festival alongside an online trailer for next year's main event.
The Planted x Dezeen collaboration presents a series of projects by international designs that align with the ideals of the Planted design event.