Torii

Crafted from Paldao and Hard Maple, "Torii" scales a traditional Japanese sacred gateway into a functional, carried object. In its original context, a torii marks the threshold between the mundane and the sacred. It is a physical crossing toward enlightenment. The structural design of this piece mirrors that journey: the jagged, stepped base grounds the work in the unrefined, earthly reality of raw material extraction and physical labor. As the form rises, it seamlessly transforms into a smooth, sweeping curve, representing an idealized, "enlightened" state, what we would see as the polished finality of the modern consumer good.

This structural transition serves as a commentary on modern consumption, which actively severs the connection between the earthly raw materials and the things we buy. We desire the pristine, finished product while willfully ignoring the arduous process of resource extraction and hard work required to create it. 

By turning a sacred threshold into a physical object that must be carried, the design asks the wearer to bear the weight of both realities simultaneously. It is a gateway that demands the unseen, earthly foundations of our world be acknowledged not only as the necessary, foundational path to where we are today, but also the continuous effort to keep us comfortable in the modern world.