SONIA G. by Tesshyu : The Voyage Set

Since we have welcomed many new Sonia G customers recently, please allow me to briefly share how my Fude journey started. Or you can click here to jump directly to the information about this new “Voyage” set!

How this journey started

Travelling to Japan has always been a dream, and I knew I would eventually go there, but the series of events that led my first trip to happen almost sounds unbelievable:

I started this blog in February 2012, I purchased so many brushes and wrote many reviews and articles about Fude. I had a full time job so talking about Fude was something I could do only in my free time, but I loved it so much! A few months later, some Kumano manufacturers reached out to me to thank me for my articles. They told me that my blog posts were helping many of their customers to find the Fude they needed, and that this was making a big impact on their sales.
Many Fude related websites were only in Japanese, and they didn’t necessarily have the resources to hire someone who spoke English and who also had a deep knowledge about Fude, or would be willing to move close to Kumano. For Kumano Fude, having a Fude community who can show and review their brushes either on Youtube, Instagram, blogs, and so on, is quite crucial. Disclaimer: I have never been paid for a review, nor have I worked with any affiliate codes, I was purchasing all the Fude myself. If I received any brushes as a gift (it happened very rarely), and I wrote about them, it was always mentioned.

When some of those manufacturers reached out to me back in 2012, they told me that if one day I came to Kumano, that they would love to meet me and introduce me to their artisans. Of course I wanted to go to Kumano, but it was 2012, 13 years ago. Even though I was extremely excited, I was also pretty scared due to having little information about this area and the language / cultural barriers. I continued talking regularly to the manufacturers, I felt their sincere gratitude and it was such a joy to have this connection with them, I really wanted to meet them in person so I started preparing for the trip!

You may be familiar with the web shop Kohlindo, it is not active anymore but Malin Von Engelhardt Volle was running it and I used to purchase Chikuhodo brushes on her Swedish online shop. Malin started commenting on my blog in September 2012, and soon after that we became friends. She introduced me to her friend Yumie who lives in Kumano and when I travelled to Kumano in 2013, Yumie was the one who accompanied me to Chikuhodo. There is a picture of Yumie and me in this recent article on Beautylish.

I was thrilled to be there, I was not only in Japan, but even more crazy: I was in Kumano!! It was absolutely surreal. I met 4 Kumano Fude manufacturers during that trip in 2013. I met the Takemori family (Chikuhodo), but I didn’t meet Master Tesshyu Takemori that time because on that day he had just left, but I met him pretty much all the times after, and I really had to pinch myself every single time.

It meant so much for me to meet him and spend time with him, I felt so calm, so happy and inspired. I didn’t want those moments to end.

All the Takemori family was incredibly amazing, we always had so much fun together. Here is Eiko (Yutaro san’s cousin) on the left, and Kotomi (Yutaro san’s sister) on the right.

I have been so many times to Kumano after that first trip, I had the opportunity to spend time with both big and small Fude companies. At some point some artisans thought that I was living there! I never thought I would have the chance to travel to Japan and yet today, walking on the streets of Kumano feels like being home.
This is thanks to Malin and Yumie who played a big role in my relationship with Chikuhodo, but also thanks to all the other Kumano manufacturers who welcomed me in a way that I could never have imagined.
I feel extremely honored and grateful to all of them for allowing me to work on different brushes or projets with several Fude manufacturers in parallel without any political conflicts between them or issues whatsoever, and for always sincerely caring about me, my family and my customers.

This is going to be a long post but I wanted to share as much as I could in this same post. To make it easier to navigate, I will leave the direct shortcuts below – should you wish to jump to a specific category.

How this collaboration started
Who is Master Tesshyu Takemori
Who is Master Masao Chioka
The Voyage Set
The Names and the Calligraphy Work
The Handles
The Microfiber Towel and Tenugui cloth
The Paulownia Box
Technical specs
Availability and price

How this collaboration started

In 2022, Master Tesshyu Takemori was preparing to step away from the workplace to focus on the training of the next generation of Master Artisans. The Takemori family knows how much I love Master Tesshyu, and they asked me if I would be happy to join my name with Master Tesshyu’s, on the same handles. This was a huge surprise and I was so deeply touched.

We knew that one day we would do something together (with Chikuhodo), but years passed so quickly. We always spent a lot of time talking about Fude, it was amazing, but we never took the time to sit down and discuss something we would do together. In 2022 and 2023, that’s what we did. We wanted this common project to feel personal and bring together amazing people to tell our story.

Talking to Master Tesshyu Takemori and spending time with him allowed me to get to know more about him professionally and also personally, what he enjoyed doing in his free time, what landscapes he loved, and so on. We wanted to find a way to connect these brushes in this set to things that we both personally loved.

I spent time with Master Tesshyu, we talked about Fude, how he worked, what he loved, it has been so enriching and inspiring to get to know him. “Tesshyu” is a trademark that Chikuhodo shares with me because of our journey together, this is their initiative and I am so grateful and honored. Master Tesshyu is overseeing the creation of these brushes with Master Masao Chioka, his right-hand man.

Who is Master Tesshyu Takemori

Chikuhodo Co., Ltd was established in 1971 with Tesshyu Takemori as President and CEO. They already had a business before, crafting Menso brushes and developing a platform for cosmetic brushes, when Tesshyu’s father (Kazuo Takemori) was in charge, but it’s only after Master Tesshyu took over, that they began mass production of cosmetic brushes.

Tesshyu Takemori is the founder of Chikuhodo, he laid the foundation of the company and produced numerous luxury brands such as the Kanebo Tesshu Collection. He has been Chikuhodo’s President and CEO until his son Shin Takemori took over in 1997, then he acted as the Chairman of the Company from 1997 until 2023.
Tesshyu san has also been the President of the Kumanofude Cooperative Brush Makers Association from 2005 until 2018.
Yutaro Takemori is Master Tesshyu’s grand son, and the Senior Managing Director.

From left to right:

Shin Takemori, Yutaro Takemori, Sonia, Tesshyu Takemori

Who is Master Masao Chioka

Today, Master Tesshyu Takemori stepped away from the workplace to focus on overseeing the training of the next generation. His right hand man is Master Masao Chioka, a master artisan who has been working with Master Tesshyu for over 20 years.

Master Masao Chioka has worked on the REN series, the ZEN series and recently the new Kiwami set, under the supervision of Master Tesshyu.

Master Masao Chioka showing and explaining the processes to me at Chikuhodo’s, I even had a go at some…

I had so much fun with Master Masao and I hope we can work together on other projects in the future.

THE VOYAGE SET

This Voyage set is limited edition and unfortunately, we will not be able to bring it back in stock.

For this special set, we had to keep in mind that we needed to be able to ship to many countries, and take into consideration the material restrictions. This brings limitations as to what we can use in terms of materials, and the quantities produced (although there should be a good quantity available).

Because of those limitations, we thought that it would make sense to add a special value to this set by working with amazing people, for the packaging, the handles, the calligraphy work and the contents. Additionally we wanted everything to be made in Japan.

The brushes

This set comes with 3 brushes, 1 brush already exists in their collection but with a different material, the other two are new designs.

SORA

Sora (for universal) is a tapered face brush with medium density and a mix of grey squirrel and saikoho goat bristles.

This brush has a fluffy body that provides a generous working surface all around the tip, the tapered point allows us to navigate with some control and precision in comparison to a brush that would have a flat surface.

We can work with the sides of the brush or be a little more precise and use the point. When using more pressure, this little point will flex easily and allow the bristles surrounding it to handle an all-over application.

This brush already exists in Chikuhodo’s collection, but only with saikoho goat bristles, it’s the G-16. The reason why this specific version of it is here, in this set, is because the G-16 is one of my most used Chikuhodo brushes ever.
The G-16 was often featured in my favs, and while I love it so much, I wished that Chikuhodo would one day release a similar brush, a bit softer but still with that airiness in the core of the body so that it could still nicely splay out.
When I mentioned this to them, they said, why not release it here with this set? So, they adapted the bristles to make the brush softer, but still retaining that similar shape, a wide working surface surrounding its tip.

This Sora brush still has moderate strength to pick and work the products, but the bristles will flex more easily and move with more ease (less firmness) in comparison to the wonderful the G-16. The G-16 is more disciplined and more powerful, so if you like the shape but prefer something stronger, the G-16 is the best option.

I usually design very dense face brushes, you may be familiar with the two Nijis, with the Jumbo Bronzer, or the Master Face for example. I tend to prefer dense powerful brushes that pack a lot of punch and that can directly polish the application. This is a different style and a style that was often requested to me: “a finishing brush that provided a more lightweight application of powder“, but: “still a little more controllable than a brush with a wide/round flat floppy surface“.
This is why we thought this brush was so meaningful in this set, it’s an ode to the G-16 and matches this request very nicely.

How to use it – We thought that this was a universal type of brush as we can either target the placement, or use it on a large surface based on the technique or the pressure that we use. It’s a fantastic brush with powders, it can be used for blush and bronzer when we aim for a soft application.
We can roll it, use it in circular movements or swipe, depending on the product or how we want to diffuse the application.

OMOI

Omoi (for imagination) is a detail face brush with medium density and bundled only with grey squirrel bristles. It has a pinched ferrule, it’s tiny but once washed, it fluffs and its surface will widen.

With this shape and size, the brush becomes fun to use because it can fit in very small pans, it can place blush, powder or highlighter in a very targetted manner, but still diffused.

Some face palettes can have challenging small pans, I have encountered many of these. Then it’s difficult to truly enjoy these products one pan at a time. Some face brushes are small enough, but sometimes they are either too dense and directional for blush application, or a bit too floppy for setting and highlighting purposes, or the other way round depending on the specific products. I was aiming for something that could navigate those small pans and also manage the placement. While this is a small detail brush, it provides some level of versatility.

That’s what we had in mind when creating this tiny version of a blush brush. A brush that we could use with anything we imagined, whether it’s setting powder, blush, contour or highlighter, using the sides or the surface of the brush, for those moments when we wished that our blush brush could work with a lot more precision.

The Cheek Pro is a small cheek brush in the PRO series, you can see how the Omoi brush is even smaller, a more specific type of brush but extremely requested, specially in gray squirrel bristles.

How to use it – We can use it as a paddle brush, or we can use the surface depending on the precision we aim for.

NAGARE

Nagare (for movement) is a densely packed brush bundled with grey squirrel bristles. It has more movement in comparison to a pencil brush, but more firmness, density and precision in comparison to a typical crease brush. This design allows the brush to work in the crease area, but also as a laydown brush.

When discussing this brush, the idea was to create something in between a crease brush and a laydown brush, with enough strength and friction to also handle more recent types of hybrid formulas. Some of those may require a more dense and directional brush like this one, rather than a fluffier softer alternative. It still won’t be a bold placement, but it allows for a little more versatility and easy transition when using different types of shadows.

Instead of splaying out like a fluffy crease brush, the shape tapers to a denser, slightly rounded tip, the bristles have some movement, but they remain firm and locked on the target area.

The shape of this brush accentuates the firmness of the bristles, this firmness allows the brush to have more resilience and transition more easily between shadows and formulas.

If you are familiar with the Crease One, in this picture you can see how their shape differs.
The Crease One is much more tapered and feels also much softer and more flexible in comparison to Nagare.

How to use it – Use the tip for placement and diffusing, or the sides as a laydown brush.

The names and the calligraphy work

For this Voyage set, it was important to add details that felt personal and reminded us of our journey.
My dedication to travel to Kumano on a regular basis helped me to deal with the stress I had at work, I felt serene and energized when I came back. Maybe it’s because it made me so happy to see how everyone was respectful towards each other, and how they naturally helped each other. Those regular trips were so beneficial, and they brought me closer to Master Tesshyu, I was always so eagerly looking forward to meeting him!

The name of the set “Voyage” was Yuta Ichikawa’s idea. Yuta san and I met because I really wanted him to create the calligraphy artwork that would be associated with these brushes. Yuta san is a Japanese Calligrapher who had already worked with Chikuhodo in the past. We met in Tokyo as he wanted to learn more about my journey, how I met Master Tesshyu and so on, he told me that this process helps him to create and match the style and the meaning of the kanji with more authenticity.

“Tesshyu” in Kanji has the word “ship” which ties to voyage, which ties to my journey, Yuta san loved how meaningful the word “Voyage” felt in this situation.

Then, together with Yutaro san (Master Tesshyu’s grandson) and Yuta san, we chose 3 names for the brushes, Sora (for universal), Omoi (for imagination), Nagare (for movement). We wanted these names to be relevant with the topic of make-up and brushes, so Yuta san was really helpful in connecting all the dots and finding the best matches.

The brush names, Sora, Omoi and Nagare are applied at the back of each handle in a golden maki-e print.

THE HANDLES

The woodworking artisan proposed several types of wood to us, one of the unexpected options he mentioned for these handles was mulberry wood. Mulberry wood is traditionally used for expensive pieces in Japan and coincidentally, it is also a type of wood that is loved to craft the most luxurious Go bowls – and playing Go is Master Tesshyu’s preferred hobby. For that reason, we thought that it would be a very special wood to use for these handles, very meaningful to him and very unique for make-up brushes.

Here are some important facts about mulberry wood:

• Mulberry wood is known to evolve and become a darker, richer golden brown. Some handles will start with a more beige/yellow hue, others will be already quite golden and darker from the start. The hue naturally darkens with time depending on light exposure, usage, etc. This is a precious characteristic of mulberry wood and it ages beautifully.
• All the handles will be different, some will show a particular pattern with the grain, they could showcase white, yellow or even black accents. We thought that this feature was really special and made every handle look even more unique.
  Before shipping these brushes to Beautylish, Chikuhodo has grouped the brushes into sets, taking this characteristic into consideration, this is so that the brushes in the same set would go together in the best way possible.
• This wood is extremely resistant to decay, with good insect resistance and weathering properties, but it’s lightweight, if you prefer light handles, this is a good thing, if you prefer heavy handles, this is just something to keep in mind.

In this picture you can see how the handles can differ, some can look quite similar but others can truly look apart. We wanted to showcase the characteristics of mulberry wood when it is used to craft smaller pieces, as its grain can be quite spectacular.

Since we were aware of these changes in hue that will occur with time and usage, we imagined that with the darkening of the wood, a light gold maki-e will stand out beautifully while remaining elegant and subtle.

THE MICROFIBER TOWEL

The set includes a travel size brush towel that has one cotton side and one microfiber side sewn together.

The cotton side showcases Yuta san’s calligraphy work, the Mount Fuji and sakura flowers.
When I asked Master Tesshyu about his favorite Japanese landmarks, the Mount Fuji was his answer. As you may know already, it is mine too.

This little square towel measures 15cmx15cm (approx 5.90 inches), it’s small enough for travelling purposes, but big enough to use on a daily basis to gently clean our brushes after use. Brushes tend to loose efficiency as they get covered with our natural oils and with product residue, specially squirrel bristles, wiping them after use can very much reduce the frequency of their wash.

I really wanted to add a microfiber towel to this special set, but it had to be entirely made in Japan and this has been quite challenging. I had microfiber towels in my (Sonia G) range in the past, but even though I worked with a Japanese company, the manufacturing of the towels was outsourced, either to Vietnam or China, depending on the year of production. I was looking for someone who could actually make them in Japan since I wanted this set to be Japanese made, end-to-end. It took me several years to find someone who could make this possible.

The Company who made the towel and who found the microfiber provider is absolutely incredible, they don’t speak English and I don’t speak Japanese, but we could communicate so effortlessly. Sometimes companies in Japan don’t want to work with foreign companies that cannot communicate in Japanese because it can be difficult for them, very confusing and time consuming. I am very grateful that they were willing to go the extra mile and I am so honored to be working with them!

We don’t have behind the scenes pics to show you today, but we will in the future and I will show you how wonderful and sincerely kind they are.

We care for ours by washing at 30° Celcius and letting it dry naturally. The cotton and the microfibre might move slightly with regards to one another, but this is to be expected given the different fabrics’ stretching properties.

The Tenugui wrapping

I was looking for a solution, other than plastic, to wrap the towel and the brushes so that they don’t get damaged during transport. When talking to the same company who made the towel, we found that we could use a Tenugui cut to protect the contents.

Tenugui are handmade multi-purpose cloths that have been dyed using traditional techniques. If you have been to Japan, you have probably seen many types of Tenugui towels. You can find them everywhere, they can be used for decoration, they can be worn (neck, head), they can be used for gift wrapping, and so on.

The paulownia box

This paulownia box has been designed to protect the brushes during transport, but it can also be used to keep the brushes safe at home, or to serve as a brush holder. It measures 7cm x 7cm x ~20.6 cm tall.

The Mount Fuji and its reflection on the lake are lasered – it doesn’t matter if you use the lid upside down as a brush holder, since the same image will be displayed.

You can reuse the large elastic to attach the base and the lid of the paulownia box so they can function as a brush holder. Or, you can reuse it to secure a notebook, or anything else you have in mind.

The box showcases Yuta san’s artwork of “Voyage” in the front printed in a black ink.
The Mount Fuji illustration and the Sonia G by Tesshyu logo are lasered, the S symbol at the top of the box is applied with a gold foil, and there is a custom hanko on the right of the box.

The Holiday boxes are also manufactured in Japan but not with the same Company, here is how the two differ in size.

Behind the scenes

You may have seen paulownia boxes before- Expensive japanese articles often come in beautiful paulownia boxes.

Usually, Fude paulownia boxes have a horizontal design- this box has a vertical design. Technically speaking, making vertical boxes is much more challenging, and due to the additional work that they require in the manufacturing process, they end up costing several times more in comparison. Both types are wonderful and very useful, I prefer a vertical design because we can store the set vertically, or use it open as brush holders. This is a great alternative use of this protective packaging- They are not solid like a walnut brush holder would be, but they are functional and they are made with so much love and dedication.

The company who made this box is very well known for their traditional and outstanding work, they have received awards and work with prestigious customers. They have been making boxes for over 50 years and I have to say, they are an absolute dream to work with! I met them in Japan and we connected in such a fun and special way. We will meet again this year and I cannot wait to spend more time with them!

Thanks to our close relationship, today I can even share some behind the scenes of the process.

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It’s important to know that each lid goes with its bottom, if you have several boxes, the lids and bottoms are not interchangeable.

Also, the boxes always need to close with the hanko facing the same side – the hanko is the stamp that you see on the right. It showcases the names of the brushes.

On the top of the box, the logo has been applied with a gold foil, using a custom plate.

There are so many steps in the process, which adds to the cost, but it has been such an interesting experience to learn how these boxes were made, it allows us to understand where the limitations where and what we could or couldn’t technically do.

Paulownia general characteristics and care

You may already be very familiar with paulownia wood, but here are some characteristics that the manufacturer shares with all their customers:

• It’s light and easy to carry
• Maintains the humidity at a constant level by absorption and desorption of moisture
• It is heat resistant. Paulownia wood has a non-heat conductive structure and hardly cracks when heated
• Naturally has an insect repellent property
• Naturally decays resistance

Humidity regulation is one of the reasons why many luxury companies love to use paulownia wood, and why it is also used a lot to package or store food products. This however means they can absorb water easily and should never be placed somewhere wet or extremely humid.

And a care guide that I can share:

• Woodgrain is matched top and bottom, so please ensure to close the box on the same side.
  Otherwise, the box may not close properly or it can break.
• Please match the stamp on the top and bottom. Please do not force, slide gently to close
• Paulownia wood is very soft and easy to scratch. Please be careful to not be scratched by sharp things
• If dirty, please wipe gently with a slightly damp squeezed cloth
• Please do not wash
• If it is wet, it may change color and deform the shape
• If it is wet, do not rub, please wipe by using a tissue or handkerchief, and let dry slowly
• If you put too strong pressure on it, or put heavy objects, or drop it, it can break
• It’s a natural material, due to humidity, rarely it can change the color partially to red or black
• We supply this as a decorative, useful reusable protective packaging for the product

I hope you enjoyed the behind the scenes of this paulownia box, I cannot wait to spend more time with them this summer and maybe I can share more pics and details.

Technical specs

Brushes

Others

Availability and price

This “Voyage” set comes with 3 brushes, a travel size microfiber towel and a big paulownia wooden box. We made everything in this set in Japan, with expensive materials and precious craftsmanship, which comes with a cost. But we had the opportunity to collaborate with incredibly kind people who worked with so much joy and dedication.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone behind the scenes, and to thank you, because this could only happen thanks to your continuous support and your love for Fude.

This set will be available on Beautylish starting on the 28th of January at 10am PT. It will cost 250 USD and is limited edition.
Although it won’t be possible to bring this set back in stock should it sell out, we would love to continue this journey with Chikuhodo and work with Master Masao Chioka in the future.