Dear Kazuhisa,
You asked me for some info on my work which I will share with you gladly. Please see hereunder!
I will send you some pictures by wetransfer too and please don't hesistate to let me know if you need more detailed info or pictures in high res or whatever you need.
Many greetings,
Daan Simons
Tsugi Woodworks | Daan Simons
Contemporary / traditional wood workshop in the centre of Amsterdam, NL.
Fascinated by Japanese wooden joints and the precision in working with them, Tsugi's work exist entirely out of solid wood, joint together. These connections in wood slide in and out of each other without being fixed by glue. In this manner both the one element as the whole keep their value, same as we ourselves are able to tightly connect with another human being while staying in touch with our own identity and truth.
Tsugi comes from the Japanese and is short for tsugite, which stands for connection or joint.
More specifically, a joint connecting two pieces of wood along their length. Tsugi also translates as next, which refers to the next phase in the cycle, a new purpose for the wood, having started out as a tree, and now lives on in the shape of a meaningful handcrafted object. And to artisan skills being handed down through the generations.
After a career in theatre as a maker and performer – mainly active with theatre collective Schwalbe* - Daan Simons (1980, the Hague, Netherlands) now crafts furniture out of solid wood (never tropical!) under the name Tsugi Woodworks. His clean, contemporary designs draw their inspiration from ancient Japanese and European wood joining techniques. These handmade furniture pieces, with their sophisticated wooden joints, are sensual to the touch and inspire us to reflect upon life and relationships. Sleek, contemporary design exudes tranquillity.
Tables
'A table is like the village square of your own home. That place where you come home to, where you meet the other, eat, read, ponder, rest.'
Tsugi's tables are put together like a shinto temple – using no screws or glue. An ancient puzzle which venerates trees. The various wood joints are put together in such away that they can move freely with the seasons – as wood contracts in winter and expands in summer. A metaphor for the ideal relationship - supporting themselves, each other and the whole: bound together in freedom.
Pulpits and Pedestals
Tsugi also creates pedestals, plinths and pulpits.
These are odes. Odes to the spoken word - theatre and to 'things that matter'. An elevation for a growing plant, a work of art, and also: an ode to the pedestal itself. The one that normally carries, now is the artwork. These pieces are made from large tree trunks and joined together in the same way as when the tree stood in the ground.
Film: Table #6
A short video from 2020 showing the poetry behind crafting a wooden table using no glue or screws. The viewer follows step by step the process of making something of lasting value out of wood: from a pile of (pearwood) planks to an elegantly crafted table.
Table # 6 premiered in March, 2020 at the Craft in Focus Film Festival, Amsterdam, the Netherlands and is now available to watch online on Tsugi's youtube channel
Shot, directed and edited by Gonzalo Fernandez
The score is composed and performed by Tczeebo (chee-bo)
Workshop
Plantage Doklaan 12
Amsterdam
Phone
+ 31 (0)20 261 18 88
info@tsugi.nl
@tsugiwoodworks on instagram
*Some additional info on my previous career (of which one small threat still continues into the future):
Every five years all nine Schwalbe's original members come together to perform the epic theatre piece Till we die.
'Once every five years, they come together and perform in front of both the camera, and a select audience. When the last one of them dies, the film material will be handed over to a, probably as yet unborn, artist with the mandate to make this life’s work into a piece of art/installation, with the name Save them – till we die'.
The first show was in 2015, the 2nd one in 2020 and the next edition will take place in 2025 / 2030 / 2035 /...