It’s called toilegami – the art of folding the end of the toilet paper roll to reassure hotel guests the toilet is fresh and ready. No one has to do it, but most hotels now do. I’ve seen simple triangles, and once even a half crane, but never anything like this.
Pens don’t need barrel carving, ergonomic sections, a thousand coats of urushi, an overfeed, a clip that is more than a springy bar of metal. Still. The small touches transform the mundane act of notation into an argument for the necessity of beauty.
All they do is stop a pen from rolling off the desk, really. A piece of crumpled paper would do just as well, but would not have carved eyes.
A golden flower catches the light, in an utterly impractical way.
And here are the tiniest birds, being quite unhelpful, just pretty.
