Rolling — Pebble Chopstick / Tea Spoon Rest

Rolling is a chopstick rest made from natural pebbles — also perfectly suited for resting a matcha tea spoon.
 
It is an on-going art practice by artist and designer Dong LiuIt condensing nature’s long process into a moment, uniting craftsmanship, machining, and natural forces.
 
Inspired by the slow formation of river stones, each piece begins with a naturally shaped pebble, chosen for its size, balance, and tactile quality.

A functional groove is then carved, and the stone is placed into a water-based tumbling process with abrasives, simulating the long journey of erosion in a river.
 
Through this process, sharp edges disappear, surfaces soften, and the pebble returns to a rounded, natural state — now carrying a quiet, usable function.
What normally takes centuries is condensed into a brief, tangible moment.
Here, craftsmanship, machining, and natural forces are brought into balance, creating an object shaped not by design alone, but by time, motion, and material behavior.
 
Placed beside a bowl of matcha or a pair of chopsticks, Rolling becomes a small pause on the table —
a reminder that even the simplest object can hold a long story of movement and change.
 
Artist
 
Dong Liu 刘栋
Designer · Artist · Thinker · Maker, Beijing, China
 
Dong Liu received his Master’s degree in Product Design from the University of the Arts Berlin in 2019. After working in both independent studios and multinational environments, he established his own practice, liudong.design, and has been fully dedicated to his studio liudong.design since 2025.
 
His creative process engages with social and cultural questions through technological experimentation and future-oriented inquiry. His recent research explores the balance between the unique potential of machining and the material aesthetics of craftsmanship, aiming toward a non-anthropocentric design approach.

In Rolling, natural erosion is not imitated as an image, but reenacted as a process — allowing time, water, and friction to become co-authors of the object.
 
What You Receive
 
One natural pebble chopstick / tea spoon rest
Each piece is unique in shape, color, and texture
Selected at random
 
Each stone is naturally unique and chosen by nature — the one you receive is part of a quiet unfolding shaped by time.