Handcrafted Wooden and Leather Hair Sticks with Zen and Taoist Sayings

Design: This design was inspired by two cups made by a friend. The first time I saw the inscriptions on them, I fell in love. One says, "How to be free? Who binds you?", and the other says "Nothingness." Even after a year or two, I couldn't forget them, so I decided to incorporate these phrases into a hair stick design. I handwrote the character "無" (Nothingness) and carved a wooden stick. I invited my friend to provide the words "Who binds you?" and asked the neighboring leather workshop to help make the leather band. In the end, we created a piece that combines leather, wood, and handwriting, reflecting elements of Zen, Taoism, and secularism.

"Who binds you?" originates from a famous anecdote in which a monk asks, "How to be free?" The master replies, "Who binds you?" Simply put, it means that the real constraint on your inner self is you. Using this phrase on a hair stick designed to hold hair feels intriguing.

"無" (Nothingness) seems like a simple word. "No self, no others, no sentient beings," "Limitless, effortless, the use of the useless." Without further explanation, you can understand it by heart. I couldn't resist making it as an alternative version to "Who binds you?" and, in a way, it can be seen as an answer to that question.

Materials:
1. Ebony wood, hand-polished.
2. Cowhide, thick and textured vegetable-tanned leather, hand-edged, smooth and delicate, with engraved characters using a copper plate cold stamping process.
Length: approx. 13CM (5.12 inches)
Note: Each piece is handcrafted individually, and there may be slight differences in the cut.



engraved sayings "Who binds you?" and "Nothingness,"