Our atelier is located in Shikokuchūō, Ehime, overlooking the calm, still waters of the Seto Inland Sea. Long known as a town of papermaking, this place carries a quiet strength shaped by generations who have patiently dedicated themselves to making. It is not flashy, but the traces of steady, accumulated work remain deeply rooted here.
RO PROJECT creates its products with this sense of place as its starting point.
We pay close attention to the origins of our materials, choose sustainable resources, and build production environments that allow us to continue making without strain. These choices reflect our commitment to being sincere toward nature, toward people, and toward the craft itself.
By focusing on the essence of making, we move forward at the gentle pace of time that flows through the Seto Inland Sea.
The Beginning of RO PROJECT, and What Lies Ahead
Through our work, we have encountered many artisans and have been deeply supported by the skill and dedication they bring to their craft. At the same time, we have come to understand another reality: due to the high barriers to mastering these skills and the aging of artisans, many techniques quietly disappear without successors, often before they are fully recognized.
As we faced this reality, we found ourselves spending more time in dialogue with artisans over the past few years, asking a simple but essential question:
How can these skills be carried into the future?
The answer we arrived at was equally simple.
“First, let’s take action.”
Sharing this resolve with the artisans themselves, we launched RO PROJECT together.
The name RO PROJECT is derived from "RAW", meaning materials in their natural state, and the root of "ROW", meaning to move forward.
It reflects our respect for natural materials passed down through Japanese tradition, our belief in preserving their essence without unnecessary intervention, and our commitment to continuing the journey of craftsmanship by learning from artisans’ deep understanding of materials and their handwork.
Embedded in the name is our gratitude toward nature and our approach to making as part of its enduring cycle.
To be honest, we do not yet know how far we can go.
Still, we believe in taking action.
And in continuing, steadily and sincerely.
We believe that this accumulation of small, honest efforts will become a meaningful step in passing these skills on to the next generation.
Founder Naomi & Rena