Kumiko: giving wood a new story
A piece of wood does not lose its value just because it is left over from another project. At REBORN Creative Recycling, we’re interested in how suitable reclaimed wood and offcuts can become something beautiful and lasting.
Kumiko is a traditional Japanese woodworking craft. Artisans cut and fit slender wooden strips into precise geometric patterns, historically used in shoji screens and decorative features of Japanese interiors. Kumiko was traditionally made from wood, including Japanese cypress and cedar—not originally from bamboo. Makers choose woods for their colour as well as their working qualities. Okawa Kumiko, Tanihata Kumiko materials.
That tradition inspires our approach to reuse. Not every scrap is suitable: wood for a physical Kumiko piece needs to be sound, well dried and capable of being cut accurately. But when the material is right, an offcut can become part of a pattern with a new purpose.
Imagine what you could make
A Kumiko pattern could inspire a decorative panel for a lampshade, window shutter, cabinet door or room divider. Smaller designs could become coasters, box lids or furniture inlays; larger ones could become wall art or an interior screen. Each project offers a different way to work with light, shadow and the natural character of wood.
We created Kumiko Studio, a web-based design app that lets you explore those ideas before making a piece. Choose a framed panel, coaster or grid, set its dimensions and arrange geometric motifs. Experiment with patterns, change your mind and develop a design at your own pace.
You don’t need to be an experienced woodworker to begin. Try it for the pleasure of creating a pattern, to imagine a use for leftover wood, or to plan something you’d love to make.
The app is a design tool, not a construction plan. Check materials, measurements and the safety requirements of the finished object—especially for lighting or fitted shutters—before making it.