poubelle x Addition Studio Japan - Repairing through Resin

Asteroid Oil burners are one of our most popular items at JAU. They are created in the beautiful coastal town of Byron Bay by Ryan Hanrahan the designer and founder of Addition Studio. The Asteroid Oil burner is sought after as it is a compact minimal oil burner which is simple to use and the burner comes with everything needed to get started all in one package.

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Last year, we had received a shipment of Addition Studios Stone Asteroid Oil burners made from Onyx, Travertine and Black Marble. The journey from Byron Bay to Tokyo seems to have been treacherous, and we sadly received damaged oil burners with minor chips and cracks. The oil burners we had received were not at the standard of selling but still usable so we wondered how we could fix them without producing wastage. Meeting Mr. Tsuyoshi Yazawa, the owner of poubelle, we talked about giving the oil burner a second chance (a chance to be reborn again!)

poubelle, run by Tsuyoshi Yazawa is an antique and arts store in the quiet back streets of Nishi-ogikubo. Comprised of an eclectic jumble of hand selected pieces sourced by the owner; the store has become a favourite among antique, object and contemporary art lovers alike.

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A few months ago myself (Sonny JAU Founder) and JAU Shop manager, Naomi met up with Yazawa-san over a couple of beers (Coopers, from South Australia) and vegemite on toast (famous Australian breakfast food) at MIA MIA TOKYO. Naomi spoke about her passion for JAU’s sustainability and reuse and our admiration for his work in making old things usable and beautiful again.

After hearing about Yazawa-san's kintsugi work on some broken cups at MIA MIA TOKYO (cups designed by yumiko iihoshi), we started discussing about working on a collaboration to transform the damaged Asteroid oil burners we had sitting in the office.

Leaving all in Yazawa-sans hands, what was created was a one-of-a-kind series of Asteroid oil burners that were repaired using the Kintsugi mending technique. For this series Yazawa-san utilised heat-resistant resin instead of the traditional gold lacquer.

His intuitive use of colour resin melded into Additions Studios minimalist natural stone - an unlikely combination, but a surprisingly harmonious one. The resin colours mimic the shades of pencil lead, an organic earth green and a lovely ochre red that reminds us of the vibrant Australian desert lands. Each carefully refurbished Asteroid oil burner is unique, no two on the planet are alike.

This Asteroid oil burner was born in Australia and given new life by a Japanese creator. From this fusion we believe that it has been reborn into an entirely new piece.

A new creation born from the encounter between poubelle and Addition Studios. This unprecedented combination is more harmonious than we could have imagined and is our new favorite piece at JAU.