Canon launches wooden dishes inspired by its lens hoods

The infamous lens mugs are something most photographers actually dislike, or so I’ve heard. But would you give a chance to other photo-related tableware?

Canon recently introduced a set of lacquered wooden dishes inspired by its lens hoods. It’s nothing like those plastic lens mugs from dollar stores, but it was carefully crafted using traditional Japanese woodworking techniques.

The company teamed up with Alvori Company to create the latest set of lens-inspired items. I’m saying “the latest” because this isn’t the first time that Canon launched tableware collaborating with Alvori. This company works with craftsmen who use traditional Japanese techniques to create their pieces, and this time they teamed up with Takumitou Lacquerware.

Takumitou Lacquerware creates pieces using Yamanaka lacquerware, a process made in the Yamanaka Onsen (hot spring) district of the city of Kaga, Ishikawa prefecture. “This lacquerware is special because it combines the beauty of the natural wood grain and elegant maki-e which is a technique of sprinkling powder of gold, silver, or various other colors onto a lacquer drawing, Kogei Japan explains.

“Yamanaka lacquerware comes in two forms: mokusei shikki which is traditional lacquerware with natural wood that has been processed and painted with lacquer, and kindai shikki or modern lacquerware which consists of a urethane coating on a plastic base.”

This series features three lens hood-inspired dishes: a petal-shaped “lens hood” and two cylindrical ones. One of them was made in Raden process which embeds polished shells that provide a unique shiny and colorful look. In this case, it’s made to resemble the front of a lens, and this is also my favorite dish of the three.

Even though this isn’t photo gear, I think tableware items Canon has launched are beautiful. Not only do they look sophisticated, but they also teach us something about traditional crafting techniques. As a handmade freak myself, I really appreciate both learning about it and the items themselves.

You can read more about these dishes here, but you’ll need to translate the page from Japanese. If you decide to order one of these dishes, you can use them for snacks, tea, or even as an ashtray. Or you can use them as coasters for those Canon lens-inspired glasses launched in 2020. And what you’ll pour in them – I leave that up to you.

[via PetaPixel]