Outlet tubs

August is the month of the “great heat” in Japan. The temperature is high as well as the humidity. Japanese complain about the sultriness, even if recent research is proving that this may be the secret of why japanese preserve a young-look skin (but lets keep this topic aside for another day).
August is hot, so Japanese devised some tricks to deal with it.
And here is our suggestion for a perfect mid-summer day:

・dancing: This is the month of morning to night bon-odori, when there is no distinction between performers and spectators. Just dance until you drop, echoing the traditional movements that were used to repair fishermen`s nets.

・yukata: to cool down, drink a cup of cold green tea and wear the cool cotton or linen single-layer kimono and feel the breeze on your skin.

・hanabi (literally fire-flowers): once the sun drops behind the horizon, enjoy the fireworks: the Nagaoka Fireworks in Niigata prefecture, takes place on August 2nd and 3rd is a “you-won’t-believe-your-eyes” 20,000 rockets show. In case you missed it, you are still in time for the Omagari National Fireworks Competition in Akita Prefecture on August 30th, probably the largest and grandest in Japan.

・ofuro: there are many ways to fully enjoy fireworks, wearing a yukata, eating onigiri riceballs, or drinking sake. But undoubtedly, a unique and unforgettable fireworks experience is if you can enjoy the show while soaking in an onsen or rotenburo!!

For this reason, we built this brand new outlet ofuro with symmetrical slanted ends, so that you and your partner can comfortably lean back and look at the sky for the ultimate hanabi experience!

Here are the details:
sizes: L1300mm x W750mm x H630mm (external dimensions) – 550mm(depth) 

Material: knotless natural Sawara wood bathtub (both sides slanted back)

1) AB grade tub (quarter sawn)  : 525,000. JPY

2) Packaging: 143x88x83cm reinforced cardboard box: 33,000. JPY

3) transportation: to be quoted (please let us know your exact address and postal code; we 
will provide a quotation before you purchase the tub)  

pdf drawing:

(sorry, sold out…）

Help our lovely customer and help yourself in giving a home to this beautiful ofuro (outlet)

From Client:
I purchased a beautiful hinoki furo from Bartok Design back in November 2019. My husband and I were renovating our bathroom, and the hinoki furo was the centerpiece for this project.
(…)
Meanwhile, due to an unexpected turn of events, we ended up moving to Japan, where we have been living now for almost 3 years.

We would like to sell the furo since we are now permanently living in Japan.  I am sad that we were never able to install or use it. Before I advertise the furo for sale in this area, I thought I would check with you to see if you had any buyers that might be interested in buying this one, thus avoiding the expense of overseas shipping.

I hope that anyone on the US mainland interested in the ofuro will be pleased to know that they will not have to pay for international shipping, only freight charges. I just heard that the Japanese government and the Trump administration just announced a 15% tariff on Japanese goods to the U.S., so a buyer would save that amount as well as a discount on the original price.

I am thinking of selling it for $4,500.00 (661,360 Yen) plus freight shipping, since a new one, according to your current price chart, is closer to $6,125.00 or 900,000 yen. 

Here are the details:
Sizes: L1500mm x W800mm x H620mm (external dimensions)
550mm(depth)

Material: knotless natural Hinoki (quarter sawn)

Options: internal seat

Details: Wooden dowels at joints / copper apron

Drawing: Timeless standard – drawing

As you know, the Golden Week is a holiday period that takes place from the end of April through the first week of May.
It is actually a cluster of four public holidays: April 29 (birthday of Emperor Showa), May 3 (Constitution Memorial Day), May 4 (Greenery day), May 5 (Children’s day).

Some businesses such as banks, work on April 30th, May 1st and 2nd (unless it falls on weekends) but many bridge the holiday and take the whole 6-7 days period off.
The nice season and the long break make this one of the busiest periods for traveling in Japan, with record sales for the tourism and entertainment industry (hence the name “Golden”, borrowed from the radio programs jargon of the 1950`s)

This year, our relentless carpenters took advantage of some working days during the Golden Week period and prepared for you this beautiful outlet tub so you can enjoy even better your weekends, long weekends and holidays bathing in fragrant hot water!
As you can see from the photo (see also below), we carefully selected the best parts of sawara wood, and the finished product is stunningly beautiful!

Here are the details:
sizes: L1200mm x W750mm x H650mm (external dimensions) – 570mm(depth) 

Material: knotless natural Sawara wood bathtub.

1) AB grade tub (quarter sawn)  : 450,000. JPY

2) Packaging: 133x88x85cm reinforced cardboard box: 30,000. JPY

3) transportation: to be quoted (please let us know your exact address and postal code: we 
will provide a quotation before you purchase the tub)  

pdf drawing:

(sorry, sold out…）

Well, what do you think the guys at Bartok design do to celebrate every time the full moon coincides with the Autumn Equinox?

Of course, they build an outlet bathtub, round like the full moon!
(and I’m sure there are quite a few people who have been waiting for a round bath!!)

Everybody who guessed right (and will but the tub): a complimentary sawara wood bucket for you! (of course round…)

If you missed the right answer… read through all out Q&A twice and try again on next outlet tub chance!

Here are the details:

sizes: Dia 920mm x  H740mm (external dimensions) 630mm(depth)
Material: knotless natural Sawara wood bathtub.

1) AB grade tub (quarter sawn)  : 325,000. JPY

2) Packaging: 105x105x84cm reinforced cardboard box: 27,000. JPY
3) transportation: to be quoted (please let us know your exact address and postal code: we 
will provide a quotation before you purchase the tub)  

pdf drawing: equinox full moon outlet tub

(sorry, sold out…）

To all who followed the story of the outlet tub uploaded on 7/7 , well … there is a sequel !
Orihime was happy to meet her lover Hikoboshi on the “tanabata day” but as you can imagine she became even more sad the day after, knowing she had to wait 364 more days before the reencounter.

She thought about what to do in order to be able to see Hikoboshi again.
She thought thoroughly for 7 days.
Then for 7 more days.
Then another 7 days.
On the 28th of the month, she had a SMART IDEA!
She asked her father King Tentei to purchase for her a sawara bathtub from Bartok design.
Hikoboshi who was working part-time for a forwarding company, delivered the ofuro so she could meet him again without waiting for the next year!
From that day on, every time Princess Orihime enters the tub she feels the warm water embracing he as if she were in her lover`s arms.

Well, as with the previous Tanabata story, also the sequel may not be exactly the version you will find in the textbooks, but the possibility that this happened in reality cannot be excluded in principle…

And if you want to feel the same as Orihime, you can purchase the outlet tub below:
(only one piece, first come first serve basis)

sizes: 1100mm x W700mm x H680mm (external dimensions) 600mm(depth)
knotless natural Sawara wood bathtub.

1) AB grade tub (quarter sawn)  : 386,000. JPY
2) Packaging: 123x83x78cm reinforced cardboard box: 27,000. JPY
3) transportation: to be quoted (please let us know your exact address and postal code: we 
will provide a quotation before you purchase the tub)  

pdf drawing: orihime outlet tub

( Note: we cannot guarantee that the delivery man will be Hikoboshi…)

(sorry, sold out…）

Today, July 7th is a special day all over Japan where people celebrate Tanabata, the Star Festival.
It is about the story of two lovers: Princess Orihime, the cloth weaver, and Hikoboshi, the cow herder who lived on the other side of the Milky Way. (Also associated with the two stars Vega and Altair)
The two fell in love and married but their love and devotion were so deep that Orihime stopped weaving and Hikoboshi neglected his cattle. 
King Tentei, (Orihime’s father) became angry and forbade the lovers to be together, but Orihime got very sad, so King Tentei decreed that the two star-crossed lovers could meet once a year– on the 7th day of the 7th month … if … if they presented him a bartok design`s ofuro !!

The two lovers did not have a lot of savings but they found a perfect model in the outlet corner and took advantage of the cheap yen, so they immediately ordered it. King Tentei was tantalized by the refined aroma and silky texture of the ofuro: forgave the lovers on the spot, and everybody lived happily ever after.

Wow !
Well, the story has been slightly modified to fit this device … anyway, the takeaway is that if you are relaxed and energized, everybody around you will become happy in a win-win situation.

And like every July 7th, now it is your unique opportunity to secure a new and pristine outlet tub to enjoy life also the other 364 days of the year ＼(^o^)／
Details are shining here below:

sizes: L1300mm x W750mm x H630mm (external dimensions) 550mm(depth)

1) Japanese Sawara Cypress wood AB grade bathtub (quartersawn): 426,000. JPY（too good to be true!）
2) Packaging: 150x95x83cm plywood box: 41,000. JPY
3) transportation: to be quoted (please let us know your exact address and postal code: we 
will provide a quotation before you purchase the tub)  

pdf drawing: outlet240707

Note: we cannot ship to the milky way at the moment, please indicate an address on planet earth…

(sorry, sold out…）

I bet you are now rubbing your eyes: a knotty hinoki tub?

But Bartok has not been able to source knotty material since 2018…! (；ﾟДﾟ)
Am I dreaming or am I awake?

Well, miracles happen, especially just before Christmas
Actually, if you are fast enough, we could ship this beautiful tub in the first week of December and you should be able to receive it before the Christmas rush✨

And yes, if you still have not written your letter to Santa, why don`t you try to ask for a Hinoki bathtub?

This is a kind of a unique design in our collection. Consider it is like a knotless tub with two large artistic knots on the face.
On the back side, one knot is cut in half but if this side faces a wall, there is no estetical consequence.
As you can see below, the knot pattern in the inner face is very nice and well-balanced.

(more…)

(sorry, sold out…）

…

This is the first time for a sunoko duckboard to end up in our outlet corner!
The reason is a misunderstanding we had with a client regarding the sizes so we had to make a new one.
Anyway, if it fits your space, this is a sweet deal!

The sunoko is new, unused, flawless and… 30% off!
Check below for sizes and prices.

(more…)

(sorry, sold out…）

This is the first outlet tub in 15 months… sorry for the long wait !! m(_ _)m
(But note that we have 2 outlet tubs at the same time! check also https://bartokdesign.com/8-outlet-tubs/hana-dango-outlet-tub-junior.php )

“Hana yori dango” is an idiomatic phrase meaning “it is better to have a dumpling than a flower”.
This saying expresses the practical mentality of the Japanese that appreciates concrete features over pure aesthetics and external appearance.

In a way, this overlaps partially with the “wabi sabi aesthetics” – but this is a story for another occasion.

Well, in this case, the naming fits the concept of a functionally perfect tub that is 20% cheaper than normal just because of a minor esthetic defect.
The material is asnaro (hiba) wood.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The wood has a pattern: check thoroughly the enclosed photos. It is not like erable (because it is the trunk and not the roots of the tree), anyway to understand the look, you can refer to this photo of “bird`s eye” veneer.
https://legnoquattro.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Erable.jpg

The tub is brand new but the material used is not the spotless AB grade we normally use: therefore it does not look as regular as the pattern of our quarter-sawn regular ofuros.

There is no problem whatsoever with quality, durability etc. It is just a “wabi-sabi” look.
And this is the only reason behind the 20% discount. (Note also that because of the smoothly planned surfaces, the color difference is more evident in the photos than it is in reality)

For specs and sizes, check the details below but let me anticipate that is one of the most popular sizes for a compact ofuro (S5)!

(more…)