Engimon | Wooden card holder

Our wooden card holders from the Engimon collection.

Minimalist design borrowed from Nordic style

While the design and concept are indeed inspired by foreign cultures, the manufacturer is not African but Japanese. In fact, the design fits quite well with Scandinavian designs, for example. This original and sensitive product comes from T-Lab, based in Hyogo Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan.

The minimalist, rounded, and cute design of these wooden statues hides a deeper thought than one might think. T-Lab's motto is to "warm people's hearts" with craftsmanship passed "from their hand to your hand."

Beyond the artistic and technical aspect necessary for any handcrafted product, T-Lab gives a whole philosophical and social meaning to its creations. Each piece is handmade, carved, sanded, and hand-painted, which takes a tremendous amount of time.

But this is part of their philosophy: T-Lab's slogan (in Japanese) is not easy to translate literally, but it essentially means "Slowness, in one form," or "To shape slowness." This gives the name "polepole" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?

What makes tlab wooden animals so special?

The concept is taken even further: if each animal is handmade, thus unique, they are also almost identical. Take the shape, the paint, the varnish... Everything is slightly different when you pay close attention, but almost indistinguishable, and yet, each animal has its own facial expression, emanating from a unique emotion.

It is undoubtedly the result of the time artisans spend to complete each step of this meticulous work, but even with time, only a highly skilled artisan can achieve such precision, consistency, and quality in their craft.

That's why T-Lab artisans are proud of the time they dedicate to their creations. The philosophy of the "pole" is not just a message; it is also part of the object, of its creation process. This sincerity gives the wooden animals of "polepole" a whole new dimension, and their creators consider this the reason why they are "comforting" objects. We would gladly add "warm" to the description.

Nevertheless, even though it is a beautiful collection of artisan work with artistic and meaningful quality, the philosophy behind it would probably not be complete if it did not have a concrete impact on the world.

That's why all T-Lab products are free of chemicals, from the treatment of the raw material (wood) to the paint they use. Finally, T-Lab is committed to preserving Albizia Falcata forests by replanting the trees they use for their creations. In doing so, they can guarantee the quality of the wood they use, and since the tree variety they use grows faster than most, this contributes to air decarbonization.

The loop is complete.