Hello, I’m Wenlai. My current ‘obsessions’ are definitely my tool boxes.



It was love at first sight a few years ago when I found this “Nice Tool Box.” It was created as a collaboration between the stationery shop Sublo in Kichijoji, Tokyo and the illustrator Toshiyuki Fukuda.



This somewhat somber orange and the heartwarming, simple illustration... I’m sure many of you find this quite nostalgic. When I was in elementary school, everyone used to have a tool box just like this tucked inside their desks.

Currently, I use this box in my locker at work. I use “Small Everlasting ‘Paper’ Bags” as dividers to keep all those little items that tend to get scattered neatly in one place.


I feel kind of bad that none of this is related to my work…

Since I’ve stuffed it nearly to the brim, I leave the lid off and prop it up in the back.

Every day, when I stop by my locker and see the lion’s face, I feel a little sense of relief. I love it so much that I even bought a second one.





I thought it was the ‘Lovely Tool Box’, but it was actually the ‘Super Lovely Tool Box.’ This must be Toshiyuki Fukuda-san’s own sense of humor at work. I can’t get enough of it!



These are my tool boxes from home. They were originally packaging for snacks and tea. Let me introduce my ‘Empty Box’ series.



My MOTHER Mr. Saturn cookie tin holds my washi tape, and my Miknits tin is packed full of stickers.

The pen case in the front, which looks quite ordinary at first glance, originally held tea bags from Ont’adore. The hibiscus tea was highly aromatic and delicious, but I can’t deny that I really bought it for the tin case itself.



This paper box with its stylish font and colors holds my larger washi tapes, mini ink bottles, and the various minerals I collect as a hobby.

I first got to know the letterpress studio “Letterpress Letters” through our collaboration on the “Printers Drawer” drawer pouch with Mitsunobu Hosoyamada. The first floor of the studio is a caf? that sells handmade baked goods in these boxes.

I had the chance to talk with the studio staff quite a bit while staffing the letterpress shop during last year’s Joy of Life exhibition. Apparently, even the text on these snack boxes is printed using letterpress!



It’s not just the tool boxes I bought for their design; even the empty repurposed boxes each have their own little story. Because they hold the memory of the joy of receiving them or the deliciousness of the food inside, keeping them close by makes me feel at peace.

Please look forward to the next update!

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