Project Overview

In 2024, thé‑En collaborated with Dylan Davis and Jean Lee of Ladies & Gentlemen Studio to create a lighting prototype for the Upstate Cardinal House. The work used handwoven Kurimayu raw silk from Kyotango, Japan—a rare material produced by wild silkworms that feed only on chestnut leaves. Source

Background

Kurimayu, or chestnut cocoon silk, carries a material presence that is already close to art. Its rarity, irregularity, and softness resist the language of standard production. For this collaboration, the silk was loosely woven and spiraled around a wooden frame, allowing light to pass through with a gentle gradation. The result was not simply a lamp, but an atmospheric object whose shadows recalled the quiet movement of a traditional Japanese lantern. Source

Process

This project began with a question that is central to thé‑En: what happens when a traditional Japanese material is not reduced to reference, but allowed to define the character of a contemporary object?

The process brought together material knowledge, design sensitivity, and spatial intention. Rather than applying craft to an existing form as finish, the material itself shaped the emotional quality of the piece. The Kurimayu silk determined how the light should diffuse, how the shadows should move, and how the object should sit in a room.

Bringing the Work into Space

What makes this project important is that the work does not read as an imported craft statement. It reads as presence. The lamp holds the room quietly. It changes the atmosphere without insisting on itself. This is the kind of collaboration thé‑En seeks: not decorative translation, but works made through Japanese techniques that feel fully alive in contemporary interiors.

Closing Statement

When material is treated with respect, even a functional object can move beyond utility. It can become a work that gives shape to mood, time, and attention.