We make only thirty of tamatebaco. Why not more? Today, the thinking behind this number, thirty.
Rather than many in a hurry, a few at a time
A box cut from metal takes time to make, one at a time. So making many in a hurry is not even possible. But even if it were, we do not think we would.
Rather than making many and spreading them cheaply, we would rather make a few, with care, and send them to people who will treasure them. The limited number is not a sales tactic. It is the result of how the box is made.
We engrave each with its number
Each of the thirty is engraved with its number, from No.001 to No.030. And each comes with a certificate that it is genuine.
The number is not decoration. It shows which one, of the few that exist in the world, this one is. What reaches your hands is one of thirty, a single one.
No two carry the same number
A box cut by hand differs, ever so slightly, from one to the next. With a number added, your No.007 becomes the only box of its kind in the world. No one else holds the same one.
This is a value that never lives in something made in bulk. Each time you pick it up, you feel that it was made for you. That feeling is exactly what makes you want to keep using it, for a long time.
Even when they are gone, the record stays
Even after the thirty have gone out into the world, the record stays on this site. Which number went, and when, and to whom. One box passes into someone's hands, and then the next. That gathering becomes the path of tamatebaco itself.
So the one you bring home is not merely a possession. It is a real part of this small, ongoing path.
What it means to hold one of thirty
- One of only thirty in the world, made without hurry
- A number for each, from No.001 to No.030
- A certificate that it is genuine
- The only one of its kind, in both its cut and its number
- A part of the record that remains even after they are gone
The number we can offer is limited. First, please see the box.