Masashi Ifuji encountered his first Shaker box while flipping through a magazine when he was in high school: “I was amazed by the existence of such a dainty, elegant object.” Later, when his training as a master woodworker was underway, Ifuji went on a Shaker pilgrimage to the Eastern US: “I visited Pleasant Hill, Mount Lebanon, Hancock, Enfield, Canterbury, Watervliet, Sabbathday Lake, and Old Chatham Shaker sites and museums: it was a very thorough journey,” he told John and Juli Baker of Mjölk in Toronto, which recently staged a Ifuji show.
Mjölk is one of several of our favorite design destinations to spotlight Ifuji’s work of late. Join us for an appreciatory tour.
Photography courtesy of Ifuji, unless noted.
![in addition to shaker boxes, ifuj makes furniture and tableware, all in wood. h 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ifuji-furniture-studio-masashi-ifugi-japan.jpg)
![ifuji\2\17;s new tokyo shop, the box tailor offers the full array of his 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ifuji-the-box-tailor.png)
Above Ifuji’s line also includes table and stools newly available at March in San Francisco. The Folding Tables, $2,500, a March exclusive, are made by hand of maple finished with a dye made from logwood, a dark heartwood. The design is modeled after British early 20th century campaign furniture and collapses for easy storage. Photograph via March.
![ifuji\2\17;s three legged walnut stools are available in three finishes 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ifuji-walnut-three-leg-stool-march-sf.jpg)
![a display at ifuji the box tailor in tokyo. \2\20;i find that despite th 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/shaker-boxes-by-masashi-ifuji.jpg)
Ifuji crafts his boxes the traditional way, by boiling the wood, shaping it, and allowing it to dry in a mold for two days. Photograph via Mjölk.
![a glimpse of the masashi ifuji exhibit at mjölk in toronto, where his oval 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/masashi-ifuji-solo-exhibition-mjolk-toronto.png)
![above: ifuji has started finishing some of his boxes with milk paint, including 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/shaker-boxes-in-milk-paint-pink-by-ifuji-japan.jpg)
![ifuji also makes an array of wooden plates and trays. this italian wooden plate 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ifuji-largeitalianroundplate-tiinathestore-cropjpg.jpg)
![an ifuji shaker tray with a grape hyacinth spotted @masashi ifuji. he uses swal 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ifuji-shaker-tray-with-grape-hyacinth.jpg)
![an ifuji stack of japanese cherry via koto ma. see the full array of his design 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ifuji-oval-boxes-via-koto-ma.jpg)
Featured image: Ifuji’s own showcase of his designs.
More Shaker design—and contemporary versions of it:
- In the Dwelling House: 16 Design Ideas to Steal from Canterbury Shaker Village
- The Design Ideas Behind the Shaker-Inspired Commerce Inn in NYC
- Shaker Style in Marseille: Studio Classico Designs a Shaker-Inspired Bakery
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