在大部份國家家品品牌，都趨向以大量生產的方式製作產品時，日本卻湧起了工藝的風潮。工藝老舖生產迎合現今生活的製品，亦有不少品牌邀請工匠合作，借他們的手，製作出極其細緻而富人情味的生活道具。
日本咖啡道具品牌Kalita，近年來開展了連串與傳統工藝生產商的合作計劃，名古屋瓷器品牌Narumi、專門製造桐木櫃子的野本桐函製作所等等，都在合作名單之內，而最近，他們便剛跟新潟縣燕市（Tsubame）的金屬工匠，完成了一系列的金屬咖啡過濾器。
燕市在江戶時代前，曾經是以農業作為主要產業，但由於附近的河川經常泛濫，影響農業收成，無計可施之下，人們開始投入工業生產，並發展成日本最重要的金屬加工地區。燕市的金屬打磨工場內的工匠，不會依賴任何先進科技，而是靠一雙手，一塊研磨的布，把金屬器具刷得亮光閃閃。憑自己的眼睛及豐富經驗來判斷，才能應對生產時千變萬化的問題，做出完美的製品。今天，Made in Tsubame，已成為了品質的象徵了。
Kalita與Tsubame合作製成的咖啡過濾器，分別由銅及不鏽鋼製成，功能固然出色，不過比起這，Kalita更希望使用者能著眼於它們優雅美麗的外觀，欣賞燕市工匠們的精湛技術。
Mass production has long been the dominating business mode for most brands around the world, but meanwhile in Japan, craftsmanship is enjoying a revival and has even become a growing trend. Many craft stores with long history start to make products that suit the needs of modern day life; many brands also start collaborating with artisans to create utensils of premium quality with a human touch.
The Japanese brand Kalita that specializes in coffee related utensils has started a series of collaborative project with traditional artisans. On the list there are the Nagoya porcelain brand Narumi, and the paulownia drawer specialist Nomoto Kiribako Productions. Their recent project is creating metal coffee drippers with the metal artisans from Tsubame, Niigata Prefecture.
Agriculture used to be the major industry in Tsubame before the Edo period, however the harvest was often devastated by a persisting flooding problem. People had no choice but to shift to industrial production, and gradually became one of the main regions for metal processing. Advanced technology doesn’t have a big part to play in Tsubame, where artisans continue to use their hands and a piece of cloth to polish the metal pieces until flawlessly shiny. Artisans make precise judgment to every unique piece according to their sense and experience. Thanks to the artisans’ endeavor and skills to create splendid quality, “Made in Tsubame” has already become a badge of excellence.
The two series of coffee drippers of Kalita and Tsubame are made from copper and stainless steel. Apart from the superb usability, Kalita hopes to stress on the elegance of these drippers, and express its appreciation for the Tsubame craftsmanship.
