This brass spoon has a thin, straight handle with an impressive rounded spoon. This spoon is from “Lue,” a brand of brass cutlery and miscellaneous goods, represented by Ms. Rikika Kikuchi. The simple design with no unnecessary decorations gives the spoon a warmth that only handmade products can provide.
What matters is not who made it.
Lue’s studio is located in the peaceful countryside of Setouchi Oku-cho, about 40 minutes by car east of central Okayama City. The building was converted from the barn of his wife’s parents’ house, with the workshop on the first floor and the gallery store on the second floor.
Mr. Kikuchi was born to a father who was a brass accessory artist, and began helping him when he was in high school. In 2006, he decided to specialize in brass cutlery and started his own brand, Lue. The name “Lue” came from a nickname he had as a child. My name is Ruka Kikuchi. My father, who was a Christian, named me after a Christian believer, Luke. When I was a child, I was called ‘Rue-kun,’ and it was based on that”.
Beautiful and functional spoons inspired by his father
The first product to emerge was the “teaspoon. This standard product, which he continues to make today, is also strongly influenced by his father. When he consulted with his father about making a spoon, the one he made for him as a sort of sample was very close to the current form. What particularly caught Mr. Kikuchi’s attention was that the hammered marks applied by striking the handle were added not for design but for ease of holding. He was strongly attracted to the fact that there was no need to waste work, yet it was beautiful to look at and functional.
He also likes the property of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, which oxidizes and mellows in color as it is used. The color changes depending on how it is used and cared for, making it a one-of-a-kind item that he can become attached to.
We are happy to have them continue to use our products for a long time.
What Mr. Kikuchi values is that his products can be used for many years to come. This also includes the folk art concept. He prefaces his comment by saying, “Mingei people may not think so,” but he continues, “Mingei in Okayama is about making good things, in the same form, and at a low cost, so that they can continue to be made for a long time. I feel that it is based on such a craftsman-like idea. In terms of continuing to make the same form, I wonder if “Lue” items have an image similar to that of folk art,” he says.
This leads to the fact that he works under the brand name “Lue,” rather than as an artist with his own name in the foreground. Although he started out as a one-man workshop, he now operates with two production staff and one person in charge of sales and administrative work. I would be happy if people continue to use these spoons long after we are gone, regardless of who made them,” he says. I myself am not concerned about the name “Lue” remaining on the spoon. If there are people who enjoy using them, that makes me happy.
Involvement with others creates new products.
In addition to original products, “Lue” also produces a number of items made to order for stores and companies. One example is the “Pizza Scoop” made for the Kyoto restaurant “monk” for pizza sharing, and the “Kuromoji” for Japanese confectionery, which was created for the “LEXUS NEW TAKUMI PROJECT” of the automobile manufacturer Toyota. These items have been made into standard items for “Lue” so that they will be loved by many people for a long time and continue to be sold.
Attitude of not sticking only to handwork
Furthermore, since 2013, in addition to “handcrafted” products, which are made entirely by hand, the company has also been offering products in the “industrial” line. As the name suggests, these are industrial products.
He started out by visiting factories and looking for places where he could cooperate with others. He recalls that he started by visiting factories and looking for places that would cooperate with him. The “Industrial” line is produced by machine at a factory in Tsubame City, Niigata Prefecture, a production center for metalworking products, based on a prototype that Mr. Kikuchi made by hand. The products have a uniform shape, thinness, and brilliance that cannot be achieved by handwork. Machine production also helps to keep prices low.
To take advantage of being an industrial product, the concept of this line was “stackable. The first product was “Spork,” a spoon and fork for outdoor use and for children. The result is an item that is easy to carry without being bulky when stacked. Even though it is an industrial product, the prototype is handcrafted, giving it a warmth that only “Lue” can provide. Of course, the unique color of brass can be enjoyed as it ages. What should be done to create functional and long-lasting items? He chooses the best method without sticking only to handcrafting. This is the essence of Kikuchi’s craftsmanship.
The next step is to enjoy yourself.
In terms of handcraft production, a couple of years ago, he shifted his focus to allow his staff to do all of the work. This has changed the way Mr. Kikuchi approaches his work. Instead of treating the work as work, he is now able to “challenge himself to work in a half-playful way that he also enjoys.
For example, in 2022, he collaborated with Yukihito Kanai, who does “Amami mud dyeing” at Kanai Kogei, a dyeing studio on Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, and Tenshin juba, a ceramic artist who mainly produces slipware at Tsukumo Kiln in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture. For the time being, it is positioned as an experimental experiment, but we look forward to the eventual development of this project with the involvement of writers, photographers, and other colleagues from different industries.
Another thing he would like to do is to make brass objects. I can’t make something good even if I force myself to make it, so I’m still putting it gently to bed,” says Kikuchi. It is like Kikuchi to wait for the right moment, without pushing too hard or being in a hurry. Like brass, the activities of “Lue” are changing little by little, gaining deeper and deeper luster. When Mr. Kikuchi encounters an enjoyable job that tickles his fancy, he is sure to surprise us with the new charm of brass.
