A Gift in Oak: Crafting Design, from Raleigh to Nagoya

The Marking of a 40-Year Partnership

When NC State marked the 40th anniversary of its partnership with Nagoya University this fall, the moment was commemorated not only through academic exchange and strategic discussions but also through a simple, hand-crafted gift: an oak bowl, turned by industrial design student Kai Kuwata.

The delegation from Nagoya University, led by President Naoshi Sugiyama, visited NC State in September as part of a larger exchange that included the annual NU Tech Roundtable, held at the Plant Sciences Building.

The roundtable focused on highlighting joint efforts to tackle pressing global challenges. Alongside research, industry collaborations and strategic planning, the bowl served as a small but lasting reminder of the creative spirit that distinguishes NC State’s College of Design.

Discipline Meets Tradition

For Kuwata, woodworking is more than a craft — it’s a way of thinking about design.

Creating the bowl was a process defined as much by patience as by precision. Kuwata began by cutting a square oak block into a cylinder on a band saw before mounting it on a lathe to carve out the final form. Midway through, he discovered that the original piece of wood wasn’t fully dried and small cracks began to form as the bowl took shape. After adjusting the torque on the lathe and realizing the imperfections were too deep to salvage, he started over with a new piece of oak.

The second attempt came together more smoothly, producing a balanced and elegant bowl that still carried the memory of trial and adjustment. Like any good design process, it wasn’t flawless. However, the result reflected the learning and craftsmanship embedded in every step.

“It’s a very rewarding process,” Kuwata said. “I love watching a piece of raw, natural material transform into a refined object. I often harvest my own wood from locally fallen trees that need to be processed and dried out for months before it can be turned to a final form. This process grounds me in the work and the material, creating a sense of connectedness with the piece once it’s done.”

That connection was forged in the College of Design’s Materials Lab, a place he describes as central to his education. “The Materials Lab is where ideas come to life, and in my opinion, one of the things that sets the College of Design apart. Every time I come in, I’m inspired by what other students are doing. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to represent just one of the things happening in the lab.”

For Kuwata, woodturning is a meditative practice as much as it is a technical process. He describes it as a harmony between hands, tools and material, where instinct takes over and adjustments are made in response to the wood itself. “I consider woodturning to be a reactionary discipline,” he explained. “Sometimes I need to adjust my technique in response to the material, and sometimes I adjust my forms in reaction to the characteristics of the piece of wood.”

That interplay between precision and spontaneity reflects his broader training in industrial design. While his coursework often focuses on synthetic and manufactured materials, woodworking asks him to embrace the unpredictability of nature. “In my woodturning, I strive to achieve the feeling of precision and quality you’d expect from a manufactured part while preserving the unique and natural character of the material.”

Looking ahead, he envisions a career as a professional industrial designer, with woodworking continuing to serve as both a creative outlet and a source of inspiration. “My main focus is to become a professional industrial designer and work on larger-scale design solutions,” he said. “But I think woodworking will always be part of my process.”

As NC State and Nagoya University look toward the next chapter of their partnership with new opportunities for student exchange, joint research and seed funding, the oak bowl offers a fitting symbol. Crafted by hand, it carries with it not only the grain of North Carolina oak but also the enduring values of creativity, collaboration and design thinking that connect the College of Design to a global community.