Gugulab Workshop Experience

Silkscreen and laser wood engraving workshops Gugulab, in an antique store in Gujo-Hachiman, Japan.

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Gujo Hachiman gugu lab

gugu lab is a shop that reuses and remakes folk crafts that remain in the area, located in Hachiman-cho, Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture, commonly known as “Gujo Hachiman”. First, I will introduce Gujo Hachiman. Gujo Hachiman is an old castle town surrounded by mountains, and the townscape with many historical buildings is also called Gifu's Little Kyoto. A beautiful river runs through the center of the town, and in the summer it is crowded with people fishing for sweetfish and children playing in the river. In addition, the “Gujo Odori”, which is registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, is held from July to September, and anyone can participate. It has become a summer tradition in Gujo Hachiman, and everyone from small children to old people dance together in a circle to live songs. In recent years, new shops such as cafes and pastry shops have been opened one after another in renovated old buildings, making it a lively town. Our gugu lab just opened in 2022. We sell and remake furniture, tableware, kimonos, etc. collected from old houses in Gujo Hachiman. We also have a remake experience for foreign visitors, so please come and visit us!

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Gugulab in Gujo-Hachiman offers visitors the opportunity to participate in screen printing and laser wood engraving workshops.

 Silkscreen Printing

Gujo is thought to be the birthplace of silkscreen printingin Japan, and the town still has many silkscreen companies.

Silkscreenprinting is a technique that utilizes mesh and stencils to apply ink or dyeonto materials such as fabric, wood, felt, plastic, and more.

At Gugulab, in collaboration with a local screen printing company, during specific workshop days visitors can stencil patterns onto items they purchase at the store. By printing a design onto a box or a purse, you have a one-of-a-kind item!

Laser Wood Engraving

Gugulab also conducts laser wood engraving workshops where you can use a laser to etch your own drawing or design into a piece of wood.

Gujo city is majority mountainous forests, and forestry has long been a significant part of the local economy. Recently there has been an effort to revitalize forestry in a more environmentally friendly manner to try to create a sustainable economy for future generations.

Gugulab uses a mix of old antique boxes that can be upcycled or new woodfrom Gujo. This encourages local wood production and reuses old materials.

The design you drew is loaded into the machine and lasered onto the wood. The original work is completed.