It all started with the concept of creating “portable frames.”

The desire to create practical products that would charm people
and encourage them into purchasing.

Daichi Kurihara was considering how to do this in the spring of 2019
when he came up with the concept of creating
a wooden business card holder incorporating
the elements of picture frames,
and he immediately began work on developing this product.

He entered it for a competition at the end of that year,
and the response received from viewers was favorable.
When several were submitted for inclusion
in a traditional crafts exhibition
held at Takashimaya in January 2020,
they had no trouble selling out.
Men had a tendency to prefer the dark,
sharp tones of walnut wood.
On the other hand, the ones made from walnut and maple were
popular among women and were highly praised,
so these were modified to lower the angle of the sides
so that they could be easily held by people with small hands,
and to provide a softer impression.

Feedback was also received with suggestions
to place a hole in the bottom
so that the cards can be removed
without turning the stocker upside down.

A period of trial and error and various modifications
to make sure the end product matched up with modern lifestyles
while obtaining the opinions of various people
resulted in the current model,
which was released in the spring of 2020.

The business card holder is in the shape of a picture frame
that can hold three cards.
The cards are extracted by sliding a finger along the frame.
Ensuring that the thickness is perfect for extracting only one card
was a task that involved millimeter calculations,
and was very difficult.
We all put our heads together to discuss this.

The angle of the side sheathing was cut to 45-degrees
in the same way as picture frames.
Overlapping butterfly splines, known as chigiri,
were inserted in the four corners for decorative purposes
and for additional strength.
We also used a carpentry technique known as sashimono,
which uses no nails, to create the delicate picture frame.

The product is finished with a beeswax finish.
This method of coating is used to finish traditional Japanese frames
that contain ancient Japanese paintings and calligraphy.

The wood itself is very soothing.
Materials than come from nature are best for items
that are handled with the fingers.
The use of beeswax also makes it safe
in the event of children putting it into their mouths,
and maintenance can also be carried out easily.

There are people who said that they purchased Nagaku
business card holders to place on their desks as interior ornaments.
Equipped with a stocker,
they certainly do have a place to rest on desks.

Placing photographs or pictures inside them in the same way
as picture frames will also add a new perspective to one’s daily life.

From the concept through to design,
and then only to the production processes.
Nagaku business card holders have earned the title of Tokyo Picture Frames.