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ofuro for Cape Town -2- start work

Continues from a previous post. Open the blog about “choosing the lumber” in a separate window.

We have been contacted by a private client in South Africa about 3 years ago.
He was going to build a new house overlooking the sea and wanted a japanese bathtub.
Apparently it took more than expected for the permits and to start construction but he got back to us and placed the order. We have a comfortable time frame but since we will ship by ocean freight we started construction:
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First the planks are planed

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Then the material to compose the side walls is selected also considering the grain direction (both to avoid warping and for the aesthetic balance)

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Then thru-holes are opened in the sections of the planks

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and the different parts are composed together with the aid of wood dowels and waterproof glue (only on the matching sections)

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The laminated side walls are pressed and left to rest for few days to dry and stabilize

<will continue…>

shipping using DHL, FEDEX, USHIP

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We shipped the round tub to singapore using DHL.
Recently Fedex and DHL are becoming more and more competitive costwise.

Also, we learned from a client a new way to find a competitive shipping company.
See the link below.
http://www.uship.com/ca/shipment/wooden-bathtub-httpbartokdesigncomproduc/657797908/

Basically, if I understand, you put tentatively your infomration and some shippers or other users (a kind of group-on?) contact you if there a good option of the possibility of consolidating the shipping.

Best luck!

hinoki flooring for indonesia

This time we shipped a large quantity of hinoki flooring to indonesia.
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The planks have a end match joint.

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We also shipped waterproofing treatment to be applied after installation.
One large can of “kihada ichiban” contains 16Kg and can cover 100m2.
The cost is 100,000JPY + packaging + shipping.
We also can sell 1L, 4L bins.

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Specs for the project:
– Hinoki flooring-
Origin: Kumano (Mie Pref.)
Quality: one face knotless
Cut: ITAME (plank cut)
Finish: planer finish, no coating, tongue/groove edge, end match
Sizes: W120mm x t 12mm x L 2950mm:

hinoki flooring for your projects!

Maybe not all of you know that we can also supply hinoki wood for flooring or wainscoting?
For interior products (wood not used in wet areas) we use trees from man planted forests (Mainly Kumano area in Mie prefecture and Yoshino area in Nara prefecture.)
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They are very regular and have few knots so we can obtain high quality solid flooring for a reasonable price.
The peculiarity of the material is a mix of “shirata”(sapwood=white) and “akami”(heartwood=red) areas.
The lumber is cut parallel to one direction (plank cut) so the planks are mixed by nature.

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Some people like this look, peculiar of sugi pine and japanese hinoki.
Anyway, if you prefer a more uniform look, the only way to obtain material of the same color is to cut away the sap wood and use only the core of each trunk. This brings up the cost by about 50%.

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Hinoki flooring is used without shoes and is normally un-coated. It is possible to coat it with urethane but this would interfere with two of the nice features of hinoki flooring: the subtle cedar aroma and the soft/warm touch. To make the upkeep easier, we recommend the application of a full penetration water repellent (Kihada ichiban). The product is applied after installation of the flooring so we will supply separately the cans and you will apply on site with a wide brush in 2 coats.

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All the flooring is manufactured as per your order so you can choose the thickness (usually 12, 15 or 18mm), the width (90, 105, 120, 150, 180mm or custom) and length of the planks(2m,3m,4m or custom), the quality and type of processing (tongue/groove, end matching joints, mitered joints, width of bevel etc.)

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plank with tongue and groove + end matching joint

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Minimum order is 50 m2. For prices please inquire:

specs:
Origin: Kumano (Mie Pref.)
Quality: surface knotless
Cut: ITAME (plank cut)
Finish: planer finish, no coating, tongue/groove edge, end match
thickness: 12mm
w120 x L 1950mm
w120 x L 2950mm
w120 x L 3950mm

w150 x L 1950mm
w150 x L 2950mm
w150 x L 3950mm

The best cost/performance for a 12mm flooring is obtained by using the 3m planks.

For installation use both glue and nails following the procedure as per the sketch here below.
flooring01flooring02

Hammer the nails diagonally and make them flush with the aid of a punch before laying down the next plank. Proceed until you reach the other end. It is recommended to tuck in the planks with the aid of a hammer to make sure there is no gap between the joints.

NOTE: Solid hinoki flooring is not compatible with floor heating.

2016 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards!

The restaurant and bar The Ocean (Hong Kong, Hong Kong) for which we supplied 8 bathtubs and 2 U-shaped sushi counters has been shortlisted amazingly in two different categories at this years Restaurant & Bar Design Awards.
ocean-sushi-counter

The Restaurant & Bar Design Awards ceremony will be held in London on 29th September 2016.
Everybody, please keep your fingers crossed…
Of course, if you visit Hong Kong do not miss the Ocean!
Shop 303-304, Lobby A, The Pulse, 28 Beach Road, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong

ocean-sushi-arch

show your passion for bathing on the Japanese TV!

2016.7.19 UPDATE- (see at the end of the post)

Dear japan-lovers,
I just sent this email below to the mailing list. I am copying here the text for those of you who are not in the list.
How are you? It has been few months since the last mailing.
Things have been very busy and I did not manage yet to start the “bartok yukata kimonos” collection. Bear with me until september, I will provide updates in the homepage news section so keep an eye on it!
02
Anyway, this mail is about a different topic: I have been contacted by a TV program producer.
(see the original mail here below)
Are you interested in showing off your love for japan on the japanese TV?
Please send me a video (if you prefer you can send it directly to Japan Footage Inc. at the details below).
If you are selected… YES!
You will be invited to Japan as a guest in the TV program!
Check the details in the email here below and/or contact me for any question.
Best//
iacopo~
_________________________________________________________________________
Hello Iacopo,
I’m Senna Tateyama, from Japan Footage Inc.
Now I’m looking for Japanophiles who want to appear on a Japanese TV program “Who wants to come to Japan 世界ニッポン行きたい人応援団”.
(This is the official website: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/nipponikitaihito/ Unfortunately, only Japanese version is available now.
Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/whowantstocometojapangp/ This one is written in English for the most part.)
I saw your home page, and was really impressed with your Hinoki Wood Japanese bathtub !
It makes me want to ask you a favor. If you know any other non-Japanese Hinoki bathtub lover like you or Hinoki bathtub international networks, could you introduce them to us?
Now we are looking for people who have never been to Japan, but with a strong passion to Japanese traditional culture.
The process of participating to our TV program is,
1. Send us a short video which shows your passion to Hinoki bathtub
2. Selection ( we have a selection meeting every week about who to invite to Japan)
3. The chosen challenger will be invited to Japan to have a special experience in the area of their interests
These are some episodes from our program.
We would like to feature overseas Hinoki bathtub enthusiasts.
(Please note that: We can’t guarantee that the video will be used in this program. The producers of this program will choose some out of many.)
If you’re interested in this project and have any questions about it, please contact me.
We would appreciate it if you could support and cooperate with us!
Best regards,
Senna
□■━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Senna Tateyama
Japan Footage Inc.
Visual Contents Division
8F, Ichigo Shiba-Koen Bldg. 3-12-1, Shiba, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, 105-0014 Japan
Tel：81-3-3452-2711
Fax: 81-3-3452-2722
E-mail: tateyama<at~~mark>jfkinc.jp
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━■□

This is an update about the participation to the japanese TV program.
I spoke with the TV producer: the clause “has never been to japan” is not a sine-qua-non.
What is important to qualify for the participation to the program is the “degree of your passion for japan”. (This was difficult to translate, I hope you can get the message).
They are looking for people with a “deeper interest for japan” than the average tourist.
For instace: if your dream is to become a japanese carpenter, or if you would like to become the apprentice of a pottery maker to learn his the secrets…
They are looking for people with a clear purpose rather than a “general interest about japan”
Please contact Tateyama-san and describe your passion, they will evaluate if you meet the criteria.
Best//
iacopo

sketchup Japanese bathhouse

We are planning a modern Japanese bathhouse to be placed in the garden of a victorian terraced house in London.
from-folding-doors

This is just a concept plan, the client`s local architect will deal about permits, design details etc.

It is a simple layout with outside storage, open terrace, lavatory room and bathroom.

I am proposing a “araidashi” pebble floor and a natural trunk as a kind of “daikoku bashira” free standing column at the corner. The walls are in sugi pine siding and the roof in sheet metal

open-window

A shoji-inspired window in 3 panels opens offering to the bather the preferred balance between view and privacy

look-house

The bathroom features a W1350 D 750mm knotless hinoki  bathtub with copper apron and wooden dowels at the corner joint

look-tub

Accessories include a 1200 x 1400mm “sunoko” floor duckboard invisibly split in 2 panels, hinoki stool and sawara bucket

vanity

Try to look for “bartokdesign” inside the sketchup 3D warehouse if you wish to navigate the model!

sawing of massive hinoki lumber

We have 5 tubs on the “production line” and are in the last stages of the bidding for a large supply for a hotel.
It is going to be a hot summer…

Luckily, we are finding beautiful lumber from our suppliers to replenish stock.
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Yesterday we spent almost the full day slicing massive hinoki lumber.
As the market for traditional hinoki products (sushi counters etc.) is quite slump in Japan our grumpiest suppliers are slowly releasing their hidden treasures…
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hinoki products pamphlets are ready!

160513-bartok-design-panphlet-outside

160513-bartok-design-panphlet-inside

Finally we gave birth to the first Bartok design pamphlet.
Since we sell mainly outside of japan and tru the internet, until now I always procrastinated but now I will be finally able to satisfy all the requests of friends wanting to present the Bartok design tubs and accessories to trade shows, friends and clients.
There are also several hotels catering to international clientele who asked me some presentation material in the past.

If you need some pamphlets or want to promote the Bartok design products (contact iacopo torrini for details) let us know!

Accounting for “save & relocate japanese homes” activity

As promised, here below is the balance sheet for the activity of relocating japanese historic homes.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/191R52WReEc7nonFc3QVEQIuDnEvK64ipfQ4XMKdO9G8/edit?usp=sharing

I did not make the final decision but I think the new activity will be called Japanese Historic Homes and will have a dedicated homepage.

I was (wisely!) advised that if I want to produce concrete results, I should appeal to those interested in owning a japanese home rather than just hoping to find philanthropists with deep pockets and the mission of preserving for posterity as many buildings and environments of value as possible…

“I love your idea of establishing a network to try and preserve more heritage buildings. As far as naming goes I would shy away from “save-japan.org” as this sounds like it could be connected to Fukushima or some other existing cause.
I personally think you need to appeal to those folks who wish to OWN a heritage Japanese home rather than those that wish to SAVE a heritage home, as the former has the means (money) to buy.
Something like Japan-Historic-Homes.org may work. This may facilitate easy web searches. “Heritage” is arguably a more correct word to use but I think some folks may get this confused with modern homes which have a “Heritage style”. “Historic” (or
“Historical”) does sound a bit dry and perhaps over-important, but everyone who looks at the site name will conclude that you mean old, beautiful homes of significance. Anyway, this is just a first effort. I would be very happy to help you further in any way I can.”

So please be in touch and let me know your opinion as well!

All the Best//

iacopo

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