Making our new Roasted Ash items with Emile

Klay Blog

Making our new roasted ash items with Emile

We have just released a small batch of beautifully crafted roasted ash book racks and filter paper holders that we designed and got made locally by Emile Drescher. We have worked with Emile on lots of interior projects over the years and have collected many of his beautiful handcrafted items that we use everyday. We also have wood work around our studio he has done for us like our book shelves, cork table top trim, plywood kitchen doors and more. Even small amounts of Emiles work adds so much warmth and character to a space. We are lucky he agreed to work with us to make these new items. Please see below for how these items came about; our inspiration for their design and some behind the scenes photos of making them.

Coffee Paper Filter Holder

Here’s the story of how we made our new coffee paper filter holders. If you're also curious about the book racks, scroll down — we get into those a bit further along in the post :)

Mason had wanted a filter paper holder for years but could never find one he actually liked the look of, so he decided to design one himself. We go through a lot of coffee and use filters daily, so it made sense to create something that kept them tidy and within easy reach. A couple of years ago, Mason began sketching ideas and making computer models, then moved on to physical cardboard prototypes.

Designing for two paper filter sizes

When we began designing the filter holder, Mason started by researching and tracing the most commonly used coffee filter paper sizes. An early reference we used was a filter paper from a coffee machine in the house we stay at during our trips to Kyoto — you can see the scan of it on the right.

Our goal was to make the filter holder able to be used for both common filter types. Specifically, we designed it to accommodate both No. 4 filters (used in machines like the Moccamaster and many other drip brewers around the world) and the cone-shaped Hario V60 filters. By focusing on these popular sizes, we aimed to ensure the holder would work in a variety of brewing setups.

Mason was open to designing it in a range of materials, but ultimately chose wood over metal — he’s always felt it’s nice to have a variety of natural timbers around and this was a good opportunity for another. While larger handmade wooden pieces can be out of reach for many, he liked the idea of creating something smaller, more accessible — something you’d use every day, and that could live on your wall. A little piece that adds warmth and a lovely wooden texture to your kitchen.

Mason made five prototypes (all which were used and tested for a while!) before settling on the final design. We tested it being made in cherry wood at one point with a thicker profile, but decided to refine the thickness & go using roasted ash, which is more stable and meant we could have a thinner and more elegant profile.

The shapes changed slightly as we tweaked it to be able to fit the different size filter papers and Mason also wanted to make sure it also looked like it was perfectly suited to both options once sitting inside, even though they have different angles!

One of the cardboard prototypes we tested in our studio for a while to make sure it was good to use. This photo is a random one (the only photo I could find of one of the cardboard ones in use!) it is also showing Mason holding a little spice rack he repurposed from a scrap of wood from Emile's workshop bin from other projects :D

Side note: if you want to know about these spice jars (we get asked often) then checkout this other blog post here about the things we use in our studio kitchen.

Photos from Emiles workshop

Before and after they are finished with osmo oil by Emile in his workshop.

Mason carefully worked out the right angle to be able to hold both common filter types: No4 (which works for moccamaster and our vintage braun coffee filter machine) and hario V60 (#2 size).

We use these #4 size paper filters in our studio kitchen for our filter coffee machine (vintage braun), but I know this is a common size for other filter machines such as moccamaster.

We use a hario V60 at home & so have one of these filter holders to store that size. The design works for both types/ shapes.

The grains on these are so incredible <3 each one is unique.

We’d love to make more of these in the future, but at this stage, we’re not sure if that will be possible. As with all of our designs, this piece went through a careful process of testing and refining. Only a small number of these (and the bookracks) have been made, so for now, they’re a limited release.

Coffee Paper Filter Holder

KMF 43,200

KMF

Book Racks

Mason originally got the inspiration to design a bookrack after seeing similar objects at antique markets and temples in Kyoto.

This was a bookstand at a temple that we saw in Kyoto, which was a reference for Masons design.

A pile of beautiful old wooden objects at an antique market in Kyoto, with a Japanese book rack sitting amongst it.

The bookracks are designed for people like us that love/ use/ reference and read books to organise those piles and clusters of books and magazines on desks, bed side table, dining table, coffee table or on a book shelves. As designers we have been finding these really useful to sort collections of books we are actively referencing for projects, or for piles of books we plan to read next, or books out from the library that we need to get through. This photo shows some of the earlier prototypes Mason made from cardboard, which we tested at home for months (and actually still use these cardboard versions too, as well as the wooden ones - they are so handy).

After making a few samples with rounded edges, we decided to go back to a form that was more similar to the antique wooden racks we had seen in Kyoto, for more of a classic and simple feel.

We went through six different samples of the Book Racks before landing on the final design. Mason played around with the thickness of the wood, the spacing of the slots, the height and width — even the base got tweaked a few times to make sure it felt grounded. At the same time, Mason was trying to make the most of the material sizes to avoid any unnecessary waste.

We worked closely with Emile while making these. Emile introduced us to roasted ash, which is the timber we decided to use for the new book racks and filter holders.

Roasted ash is heat-treated to help stabilise the timber, making it more durable and less prone to movement over time. This roasting process not only gives the wood a rich, dark tone and a beautifully aged, antique feel — it also enhances the natural grain, bringing out incredible patterns that make each piece unique & in a way already has history already built in.

Each piece is unique. The timber varies in tone colour and patterns. They are all very beautiful. This photo is of after Emile had oiled them in his Auckland workshop.

Emile used very elegant pins at the bottom of the book racks instead of screws. He is highly skilled and finished these so carefully. The construction also uses glue to hold the elements together.