Precious Redwood

The most beautiful thing about working with such a rare and precious material like this redwood is the care you have to take while working with it. They are one of the softest and lightest woods of all, but they are also one of the stiffest along their length. It’s how they get to be so tall. Lightweight enough so they don’t have to hold up an extra length, stiff but able flex in the breeze. Which I always think is a beautiful metaphor- to be strong you have to be soft and flexible, too. 

But what are traditional Japanese tubs made out of? Hinoki, generally - a kind of Japanese cypress that grows fairly tall, smells wonderful, and is used all over Japan for ritual baths, temples, and more. Living in Northern California, we don’t have a lot of Hinoki available, but what we do have is Redwood. Redwood is also extremely rot resistant (it makes great outdoor furniture) and has been used in hot tubs and water tower tanks in this area for hundreds of years. While most of the ‘Old Growth’ trees, the trees that grew originally in the area before westerners showed up and cut most of them down, redwood grows large and fast and is still available to be harvested and used. Redwood is also one of the most dimensionally stable woods available - meaning it shrinks and swells the least, ideal for making an Ofuro soaking tub.