— Solenne K. Aoyama , Editor-in-Chief The Language of Surfaces

Welcome back to the grain.

PAO Collection Magazine is printed on FSC-certified, uncoated paper. No lamination. No perfumed inserts. The ink will transfer to your fingers. We consider this a feature.

2. THE ANTI-CATALOG Why one Danish collector owns only three chairs. By Lars T. Hvid

We blind-test 21 towels. Egyptian cotton loses. A 1950s Irish linen tea towel wins, but only after its 40th wash. We deconstruct the tenugui —a thin, dyed cotton hand towel that never pills, never plumps, and dries in 11 minutes. “A good towel teaches you patience,” says Kyoto textile conservator Riku Taneda. “It does not absorb. It invites water to leave.” TOOL AS TEACHER | The Mortise Chisel Master carpenter Renzo Piano’s (no relation) guide to the one tool that cannot be rushed. “If you hear the wood cry, you are going too fast.”

Issue 07: “The Tension of Touch” Spring/Summer 2026 | $35 USD