Andrea Rüeger

Could you introduce yourself and share the path that led you to your current work with urushi ?

My name is Andrea Rüeger. I was born in Switzerland and live in St. Gallen City, a town near the mountains. I worked for a long time as a polymecanician, specialized in metal turning and CNC milling. Money was always tight, so my solution for having nice furniture and design pieces was to make them myself.

I started working with the material that was most familiar to me from my apprenticeship as a polymechanician: metals of all kinds. But soon, I developed a strong interest in wood and woodworking. Having already been to Japan several times, I knew about urushi, but it felt completely out of reach. The idea came back to me when I was searching for a way to seal some cups I had made.

The next time I went to Japan, I looked specifically for urushiware. Holding a piece in my hands consciously for the first time was breathtaking. In that moment, I instantly knew that I wanted to learn how to apply this finish myself.

What draws you to urushi ?

Urushi for me is the perfect material for sealing. It’s toxic to humans when wet, but once cured it completely changes its properties. It becomes acid- and heat-resistant, has antibacterial qualities, and remains slightly flexible. I love that I can create an object with urushi that is made entirely from natural materials — there are no synthetic chemicals involved. The warmth of lacquerware is unique: the wood insulates perfectly when used with hot liquids, and the soft, brushed finish feels wonderfully gentle to the touch.

How do you approach the concept of longevity in an object ?


I try to use high-quality products – from wood bases, diatomaceous earths, urushi, to brushes. I had to learn that rushing the process can lead to quality issues and unsatisfying results. That’s why I give my urushiware enough time to cure. If a coat or layer does not meet my expectations, I redo it. This extends the production time, but I am happy to invest this additional effort.

Another important aspect, in my opinion, is that taking care of something is closely connected to how long it lasts. If you own an object you love, you need to nurture it and know how to take care of it. Nothing lasts forever, but with care and love, you can prolong the life of an object – regardless of whether its quality is considered good or bad. 

What are the main steps in creating an urushi piece in your workshop ?

After making the wooden base, the second step is applying a first coat of unrefined ki-urushi. This penetrates the wood and strengthens the fibers. From there, several steps follow, using fillers made from diatomaceous earth, rice glue, and woven cloth. Between each step, the surface is wet-sanded and the layers are cured in a special oven called a muro, where the humidity is kept between XNUMX–XNUMX percent to ensure proper curing of the urushi. The final two layers are applied with refined urushi that has been carefully filtered and brushed on with a special tool.


How do you choose the most suitable technique for each object ?

I usually start by developing an object that is needed in our household. From there, I think about its purpose and how it should look so that it can be used and cleaned easily. Depending on how heavily it will be used, I decide whether it needs reinforcements, such as woven cloth, and how many layers it should receive.

Brushed urushi finishes can sometimes be quite slippery, so I began experimenting with textured finishes. By adding different ground earths, sieved green tea, or even metal powders, I was able to create surfaces with more grip.

I generally choose between two techniques :

• Nuritate finish : a brushed finish built up with many layers, ideal for objects that will be used frequently.

• Fuki-urushi technique : a simpler method where the urushi is wiped on and off, leaving a very thin layer that highlights the natural grain of the wood.

The fuki-urushi finish results in a delicate surface that is more vulnerable to damage, since the urushi layer is so thin. In contrast, a nuritate finish can involve 10–15 layers, making it much more durable.


How does the place where you live influence your work ?

We live in St. Gallen, which is a rather small city but still the fifth largest in Switzerland. I must say, this place itself doesn’t inspire me much. I think my real inspiration comes more from my workplace at an art foundry, and from the Bündnerland, which is where a lot of beautiful wood originates.

When it comes to forms, my biggest inspiration often comes from the limitations I face in creating shapes. I never learned woodturning, but I do know how to turn metal on a conventional lathe. Natural, organic shapes are difficult to produce with such a high-precision tool. That’s why my forms tend to be simple, shaped by the restrictions of metal turning – but also by the question: Do I really need to invent new shapes for something as timeless as a cup ?

For me, a cup should simply serve its purpose – to drink from – and have a timeless design. I’ve always been drawn to simple forms with straight lines and soft radiuses. At the same time, I enjoy combining precision with the knowledge that wood has its own behavior. Urushi, too, is not entirely predictable – it has a will of its own, or at least I like to think so.


In our XNUMX Autumn Selection, you are presenting two types of pieces: chopsticks and four cups. Could you introduce them and explain the techniques used for each ?

The wood used for the cups is Betula Grossa, which is something between cherry and birch. All of the cups share the same form – a timeless shape, perfect for tea, cappuccino, or really any drinkable liquid. The finishes, however, are very different :

Cup XNUMX is reinforced (the black band at the top) with woven linen cloth, filled and sanded multiple times, and finally lacquered with a refined keshi shuai urushi given to me by a friend in Japan.

Cup 2 is a simple red-lacquered cup, made with a few underlayers and finished with two final coats of red-pigmented urushi.

Cup XNUMX uses the same technique as cup XNUMX, but instead of pigmented lacquer it is finished with translucent keshi shuai urushi.

Cup 4 is reinforced over the entire body with hemp cloth, filled several times, and completed with two coats of white-pigmented urushi.

The Hashi (chopsticks) have been made with Nuritate finish and the tip has a rougher but still soft texture to the mouth. I helps to grip something slippery such as noodles or anything really.

Unique pieces available in our online store.