PROFILE
The raw wood logs are used
Green woodworking is a woodworking technique.
Using small diameter trees that are not used as timber
I mainly make Nordic style spoons.
The process of making the logs is done using only hand tools.
Listening to the voice of living wood
We value creating together.
*Green woodworking is a method of working with fresh, green wood logs.
Use hand tools such as axes and knives to make tools necessary for daily life.
It is a new type of woodworking that incorporates the wisdom of our ancestors.
Mariko KAWABATA
Green woodworker / Spoon carver
Owner of HÖBAL SPOON
Born in Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture, currently living in Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture.
Graduated from the Department of Industrial Design (majoring in Textile Design)
In 2017, upon moving to Motosu, Gifu Prefecture, she began making cutlery from dried wood.
In 2019, after a chance experience with green woodworking, shifted to using raw wood for work Creating works Exhibiting at craft fairs Selling on websites and in stores (A portion of website sales is donated to the Green Fund, which is used for forest maintenance activities, etc.) Practicing a lifestyle that incorporates green woodworking Posting on Instagram and YouTube Planning and holding events for citizens that combine green woodworking and forest learning at the Monju no Mori Satoyama Club in Motosu City (Hino Motors Green Fund Subsidy Project, 2022) Launching the Green Woodworking Club at the same club Teaching green woodworking and forest maintenance, etc. Activities to increase the number of people who grow forest trees and use them in their lives. Lecture/experience at the Department of Environmental and Urban Engineering, Gifu National College of Technology (2022). Lecturer for spoon-making workshop at COSA Otsuki in Otsuki Town, Kochi Prefecture (2023). Small-group on-site workshops (2022-). Web magazine NIIGATA SLOW LIVING HAKKOJIKAN. Interview article 1 (February 2023) Interview article 2 (April 2023)
[Exhibitions]
2023
Social Craft (Iha, Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture)
Kiso Handicraft Market (Kiso Fukushima, Kiso Town, Nagano Prefecture)
GIFU Craft Fair (Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture)
Isuzu Forest Craft Fair (Ise City, Mie Prefecture)
Ogaki Creators Park (Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture)
2024
Village Mishima Rakujuen 2024 (Mishima City, Shizuoka Prefecture)
Craft Fair Matsumoto-Craft Square (Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture)