T-Lab

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The Pole Pole animals, cut, carved, sanded and hand-painted in albizia wood, from a Kobe brand. Each piece is slightly different, each expression unique.

A fast-growing wood from T-Lab's own forests, a chemical-free plant-based paint, and more than sixty animals, from dinosaurs to KOTORI birds.

Order on the B2B portal Online shop

Origin

Kobe, Japan

T-Lab in one minute

Our product video, shot by the agency. On the final site, it plays directly in the page; it is free for our retailers to use.

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The brand

T-Lab in detail

独自のノウハウ

Unique craftsmanship

Cut, carved, finely sanded and then hand-painted, each piece is a little different and entirely unique. These minimalist figurines are captivating and a pleasure to hold: soft, smooth, light. Their round, pared-down shapes, in the Japandi spirit, invite calm.

At first glance, you don't even realise they are made of wood; their flowing curves and precise hand-painted lines make them high-quality objects that last over time, with minimal care.

Knife carving and hand-painting of T-Lab animals

少しずつ

Little by little

Each model is first drawn on a piece of wood, then die-cut: in a way, this is the mould of the animal to come. The next step, the most delicate, is to give it its final shape by gently carving it, layer by layer, with a knife.

The animal is then polished with two different grades of sandpaper, before coming to life under a coat of black paint made with 100% natural plant pigment. Each animal has a unique, touching expression. Pole Pole, pronounced “poh-leh poh-leh”, comes from the Swahili words meaning “slowly, slowly”.

Family of T-Lab wooden animals on a wooden board

私たちの倫理

Our ethos

The figurines are carved from solid albizia wood, not composite, grown in T-Lab's own forests in Bali: a fast-growing, renewable species. The rough-cut wood is kiln-dried over a long period, then each shape is refined and sanded before painting.

The finish uses a chemical-free plant-based paint, applied by hand. The final touches are done in Japan. “From our hand to your hand”: sculptures built to last for many years.

Solid albizia wood, from the brand's own forests
Kiln drying, sanding and hand-painting
Plant-based paint, chemical-free

The T-Lab team in front of the Poletoko shop in Kobe

コレクション

The collections and the Poletoko shop

More than sixty animals, sorted by type – cats, dogs, birds, dinosaurs – and by habitat: forest, farm, polar ice, savannah, jungle, sea life. And special editions: the KOTORI birds, the Hakobune ark, the T-Lab Giants, paint-your-own figurines, the zodiac animals and the Christmas collection.

If you are passing through Kobe, the Poletoko shop is dedicated to the world of T-Lab: special editions, the story behind the brand and even a gacha machine. 1-1-10 Sakaemachidori, Chuo-ku, Kobe. In Europe, the collection is also sold to individual customers on our T-Lab Europe website.

In pictures