NAWA NA SAI

🛠️fiber cult

07/14/2026

The Anatomy of Organized Play 📁✨

I partnered with Mustard Made · Statement Storage to build the perfect storage system for my new project. 
When diving into a new body of work, the hardest part isn’t the craft, it’s managing the creative chaos. I needed a dedicated space where my tools and swatches could live in. 
Enter my new studio system: The Lowdown and The Storyboard. 
I was instantly drawn to the Lowdown because its low profile reminds me of a traditional Korean 장 (Jang), cabinetry designed to center the energy of a room closer to the ground. There’s also something nostalgic about the locker aesthetic; it brings back that permanent “student” mindset, keeping me curious and ready to learn. 
Setting it up in my studio was quick and seamless, giving me an instant, modular system to categorize my R&D. Now, everything has a home, the chaos has a shape, and the organized play can finally begin.

Featured: The Lowdown, The Storyboard, and Baskets in Chalk.

07/08/2026

The most insane part about all of this is that they are all technically edible.

Hanji 한지 is made from mulberry, which we brew into teas. Perilla oil 들기름 is a kitchen staple. And Ott is actually used as a legendary health remedy.

06/14/2026

Nature’s most resilient shield doesn’t come from a lab, it comes from a tree’s defense system.

The process of getting this lacquer relies on the Korean Lacquer Tree, known in Korea as 참옻나무 (Cham-ot-namu). Native to the region, this specific tree secretes a brilliant protective sap called 옻 (ott) to seal its wounds. It is an ancient, thousand-year-old craft that requires an immense amount of patience, maturing over a thousand days from a muddy dark paste into a translucent amber glow.

Disclaimer: The tree pictured in the background of this video is just a beautiful tree hanging out in Prospect Park.

06/04/2026

🤍

05/29/2026

With love🤍

05/27/2026

Material Log Spec 05: Ott 옻

In Korea, they say that Ott—traditional lacquer—is a material that breathes. While most finishes merely sit on the surface, Ott permeates the grain, becoming a living shield that can endure for a thousand years.

I’ve been exploring the art of Ottchil 옻칠, specifically how it transforms the Hanji. Unlike synthetic resins that suffocate a material, Ott is a natural polymer that offers a “silent protection.” It is waterproof, antibacterial, and heat-resistant, possessing a chemical resilience that modern science still struggles to replicate perfectly.
As I apply each thin, translucent layer to the paper, I’m obsessed with the shift in transparency and luster. The lacquer doesn’t just coat the Hanji; it clarifies it, turning the paper from an opaque surface into a deep, amber-toned lens. It creates a structural hardness that feels impossible for paper, yet it retains a tactile, organic warmth.

There is a profound humility in this process—working with a substance that cures only in the humidity, demanding you move at its pace, not yours. The result is a combination that is both fragile in appearance and indestructible in spirit.

05/18/2026

I love the ‘behind the scenes’ of a thought. The part where it finally finds its place. To me, organizing isn’t a chore; it’s a nurturing rhythm. It’s about creating a landing pad for everything I’m building so my mind can actually stay light. That little bit of order is the only reason that lets me dive into the creative side without getting lost.

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Brooklyn, NY
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Telephone

+17186836352

Website

https://www.nawanasai.com/, https://www.nawanasai.com/product-page/fossilized-loom-kit

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