Non-linear
Manufacturing

Keiko trained under Rakuichimaru Tanaka — the fourteenth generation of the Raku lineage — before establishing her own kiln in Shigaraki. Her work is characterized by an extreme patience with material: she fires no more than twice per year, each session lasting six days. Her partnership with Noma began in 2021 when we commissioned the Wabi Tea Set; since then she has led the ceramics programme across both streams.

Rafael's family has operated the same workshop in Porto since 1963. He learned from his father, who learned from his. He works with a team of six — all trained in-house over a minimum of five years. His principle is simple: if a piece cannot be repaired in a hundred years, it should not be built. His Ebony Writing Desk for the Originality House earned a commendation from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga.

Amara is part of the griotte tradition of Senegalese metalworking — a craft lineage that predates colonialism and carries its own language of form. She trained in Dakar and refined her setting technique with a Swiss firm in Biel before returning. Her work is the bridge between ancestral West African goldsmithing and the precision requirements of contemporary fine jewelry. The Tourmaline Collar Necklace is entirely her work, from stone selection to final polish.

Thomas trained in the Nový Bor district of northern Bohemia — the historical center of European crystal. His speciality is free-blown form: he works without molds, relying entirely on breath, gravity, and the predictability of heat. He led the eleven-day firing sequence for the Lalique Vessel Series. He maintains that a piece of crystal is only finished when it has been held in the light.

Li Wei operates at the intersection of the gem trade and material science. Based in Ruili — the principal jadeite trading hub on the China-Myanmar border — he grades and acquires stones for our Material Sourcing stream. His singular skill is reading mineral structure: he can identify fissure patterns invisible to the naked eye that will affect a stone's behavior under long-term stress. He designed the mineral selection protocol for the Singapore Wall Installation.