Magewappa: Bentwood Box
Saturday and Sunday, July 5-6, 10am-5pm
Presented by Brendan Gaffney
In this two-day workshop, come learn to make your own bentwood bento lunch box! Magewappa, literally bentwood box, are traditional boxes made with thin cedar sides and stitched with cherry bark that have been made in Akita Prefecture in northern Japan for more than a thousand years. This process has been adapted for American woods and cherry bark, and each student will go home with their own traditional box, ready to carry their lunch, keepsakes or precious things.
Using traditional techniques, we will plane, boil, bend, carve and stitch each box, starting from square one with the raw materials. There is no experience required for this class – a total novice or a seasoned craftsperson both will benefit from the novel methods of construction used, and ambitious students will have the opportunity to do more elaborate carving or bark stitching, as time allows.
On top of learning the millennium-old techniques involved in magewappa, we will also use this craft as an entry point into discussing the culture surrounding craft, food and symbolic representation in Japan.
Tool list:
- carving knife, similar to Mora #106 or #120 (can be purchased at Luck Dragon)
- Exacto Knife with No. 11 blade (the classic pointy small exact knife)
- hand towel
- sharp scissors
- optionally, bring a woodworking hand plane if you have one already and prefer to use your own
I will have multiples of each piece of equipment for loan, should you need to borrow any. But, I highly encourage students at least bring or purchase their own knife and hand towel.
$350, materials included.
Reserve your place before the date.
Brendan Bernhardt Gaffney is a furnituremaker, design, writer and educator based in Otego, New York. burn-heart.com
hello@luckdragon.space
(607) 746-2003
updated 05/28/25