While the Vevangs are Nordic in heritage, they have an appreciation for Japanese culture and craftsmanship. Michelle Vevang was the first one to ask me, why aren't you carrying those Tawashi brushes?  All that to say they have are totally tuned into Japan and think about functional needs.  

They totally got it when talked about the need for long chop sticks that we could use when cooking with our donabes and voila they created hand finished cooking chopsticks.