Spherical Kumiko sculptures

Japanese designer Mai Suzuki from the creative label Nama Iki designed sculptures that look like the silhouette of dresses and function as lamps using the ancient Japanese woodworking technique of Kumiko.

Kumiko is a traditional Japanese technique that assembles thin pieces of wood without the use of nails. Generally, this concerns flat pieces.

After learning the art from the only craftsman in Japan able to make perfectly spherical Kumiko, Suzuki gave a new interpretation to the art of Kumiko by modelling all of the parts in 3D. For her project called ‘Kumiko assembling the “unknown”’, she calculated the design of the parts using a database she developed herself. From there, Suzuki developed the dress forms made from a combination of wooden and 3D printed pieces.

Photos: Nama Iki