ALEXCIOUS

What is carbon fiber?

Light, strong and flexible carbon fibers are also used in airplane and F1 race car bodies as a lightweight material to replace metals. One of the characteristics of carbon fiber is its expression changes according to the direction of light. Found the more curves on the surface the more brilliant becomes the surface expression and the thicker the transparent layer on the surface the more color depth. The process of applying carbon fiber sheets to a mold is called Forming. Because of the curved mold surface, it is difficult to eliminate the crimples on the surface. The forming of carbon fiber sheets performed manually to form a radial pattern carefully from the joint sections, also to make a nice looking of the sheet crimples. As a result, the patterns formed over each curve of the Daruma doll are individual and finished in different expressions one by one. We hope you will enjoy the beauty of the carbon fiber Daruma doll in your hands.

The difficulty we faced in the early stage, however, was that the attractive carbon fiber patterns became no longer visible when its surface covered with a thick lacquer layer. We found the lacquer process was a problem. Around that time, we met with Kazuo Atano a traditional Japanese craftsman, who specialized in the Hida Shunkei paint technique in Takayama, Gifu. When using the Hida Shunkei lacquering technique on wood, the natural grain of the wood shines through, celebrating the warmth of the wood beneath. As the carbon fiber patterns on the Daruma doll are the essence of its beauty, we thought that his lacquer technique was the best solution for our problem. The surface applied with his lacquer looks smooth and shiny with a deep reddish purple color while showing the carbon fiber patterns. We found the Hida Shunkei Paint process a perfect solution for the carbon fiber coating.

Fusion of Japanese traditional "lacquer" and cutting-edge material "carbon"

Cutting-edge carbon fiber is finish with the traditional craft of Hida Shunkei paint technique and lacquer art. As time goes on, the luster and transparency increase and the beautiful patterns of carbon fiber will stand out more.

Meaning of Daruma's face

Daruma’s eyebrows inspired by a traditional Japanese bird, the crane:
Since olden times, cranes are believed to live for a thousand years. They are known as auspicious birds which represent longevity as well as monogamy. Crane couples are said to mate for life, loving each other and continuing on their life journey together. As the crane’s cry can resonate and be heard from long distances, the Japanese see them as birds able to reach the heavens and thus are known as lucky symbols.

Gold and red eyes:
The gold is the color to bring harmony and luck on finances, also known as the color of victory. The red is the color to ward off evil spirits and act as a protective charm against disease and sickness.

Daruma’s cheek beards inspired by turtles:
In the traditional Japanese folk tale, Urashima Taro, turtles were messengers of the dragon king. They are also known as messengers of Horaisan in China, a place of perpetual youth and longevity for mountain hermits, in addition to being auspicious animals in ancient China. In Japan, turtles are believed to live for ten thousand years and like cranes, represent longevity. They are auspicious animals which are highly respected. Furthermore, the hexagon patterns on the shells of turtles are often used as lucky omen motifs.

Daruma’s chin whiskers are inspired by pine trees, the circles around the eyes by bamboo and nostrils by plums.