Bamboo handcrafts part one

Some amazing bamboo material has been stored lately, so now it's time to play: small things first, bigger things later on as soon as we get the chance. These are my first simple designs of handcrafted bamboo boxes. 

Big harvest of big bamboo

Today it's the very last day of this waning moon phase; so it is the ideal time to harvest bamboo and store it for future building and crafting applications. Partnering with italian company Stilverde and thanks to their logistic organization and local connections, we approach an amazing bamboo forest that needs to be properly reduced and managed.

Feels like somewhere else in the world but we are in the southern part of Friuli, in the north east of Italy. It's a really gorgeous site...

Colors change

Time is passing and the colors of the season are definitely changing: the ginkgo trees have grown this year but now it's time for them to rest. 

I have seen other ginkgo trees here in Italy, already grown tall and bearing fruits. They are planted around a busy round-about so I do not dear to try them: anyway seeing the fruits it's a good sign. Hopefully we'll find a place for them in the ground soon.

Forging bamboo

Never really played much before with a blow torch but I must say it's a really handy tool when you need to treat bamboo making it harder and mould proof. It's definitely a meditation: it takes a lot of time and effort to do it properly but the result it's really rewarding. This is all italian grown bamboo that I am putting together for a custom made bed-frame.

Chances are that I am going to set up a bamboo forging outpost in my the workshop of my dreams... ideally running on wood-gas... saying it out loud so it may help to manifest this soon!

Unexpected bamboo in Italy

In these days I really need to give big thanks to all the good stars upthere: sometimes reality gets so unexpectedly amazing that everything seems to fit right here... right now! It just takes the time to let things happen and come to you.

This is the way I eventually bumped in the best italian bamboo I have ever seen. Talking about the real stuff up to 14-15 centimeters of diameter and 15-16 meters long canes. Fabulous.

No time to loose: just get into designing and building stuff right away.

Hemp-factory docu-film

Today, at the Hemp(R)evolution harvest-fest, we broadcast the first screening of "Canapificio udinese, appunti sperimentali di viaggio" - ("Hemp-factory of Udine, experimental notes of a journey") the first short version of a documentary film of interviews and research following the memories of the local hemp-factory that was closed just 50 years ago, in Udine North-east of Italy.

This version is in only italian language at the moment but we'll think about translations as we proceed along the path. Enjoy watching as we enjoyed filming!!!

Big gingko growing

Big satisfaction when your own baby trees keep growing, reaching for the sky and digging their roots deeper and deeper. This is the case for me with these five gingko trees all born from seeds that I carried to Italy from a holy shrine in Japan. They really mean a lot for me, I must say.

Miso making days 2017

Thanks to the good stars around, I managed again this year to prepare maybe the "king" of soy products. Starting from scratch of course... from the very basics, here's to you all my miso making days!

Pignarûl ritual

On the 6th of January in the north east of Italy, people gather to celebrate the traditional fire ritual of Pignarûl, a huge pile of wood and whatever scrap biomass that can be burnt down, drinking hot spicy wine (vin brulé clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, orange peels, brown sugar) and foreseeing the future year according to the direction of the smoke.