Martha Stewart’s Eggshell Palette Inspires Hachiman Collection
The eggs come out of the coop in soft hues of green, one washed toward sage, the other toward olive. They are laid by the Olive Egger and Cream Legbar hens at Martha Stewart’s farm in Bedford, New York, and their pale shells set the palette for a collection of buckets and watering cans by Hachiman, the cult houseware maker named for its hometown, a riverside pocket in the mountains of Japan’s Gifu prefecture.
Martha Stewart with one of her farm hens. Photography courtesy of Marquee Brands.
The five-piece special edition grew out of Stewart’s ongoing collaboration with Chilewich, the company that introduced Hachiman to North America. Two egg-derived tones are added to a pair of the brand’s best-known indoor/outdoor designs: a lidded multi-purpose bucket and an open-top watering can, both made in Japan.
“Hachiman products first caught my attention in Rome a few years ago when I was visiting the design store Nozzoli, a Chilewich wholesale partner,” says John McPhee, chief executive officer of Chilewich. “The signature buckets were displayed superbly, and the combination of beauty and utility—thoughtful design—was instantly apparent.”
The Multi-Purpose Bucket in Olive. Photography by Megan Senior.
Soon afterward, the Hachiman team happened to stop by the Chilewich stand at Ambiente trade fair in Frankfurt, and talk turned to working together. A curated selection launched in January 2025 with a variety of colors, like mustard and navy.
Chilewich has collaborated with Stewart since 2024 and had sent her Hachiman pieces to try at home. “When we asked her what a ‘Martha’ version of these items might look like, she didn’t hesitate,” McPhee says.
“When we first shared our Hachiman collection with Martha, she was sitting in her kitchen, a basket of eggs on the counter,” says Kristin Harris, Chilewich’s vice president of design and creative. A brief minute with the dark green watering can and bucket was all it took: Stewart wanted the hues of her favorite eggs on Hachiman’s forms.
The Multi-Purpose Bucket lids are a perfect match for Martha Stewart’s Olive Egger and Cream Legbar hen eggs. Photography by Kristin Harris.
Transported very carefully, the eggs made the trip from Bedford to Chilewich’s design studio in the Flatiron District, where the team held the shells against Pantone chips in search of colors that would keep their beauty once translated into plastic. “I’ve matched a lot of unexpected items in my career—yarn, hosiery, handprinted swatches, nail polish—but never eggshells! There were lots of smiles in the studio that day.” Hachiman achieved the color on the first try.
The Multi-Purpose Bucket, a winner of Japan’s Long Life Design Award, is a ribbed, stackable container that holds far more than water. An opening in the handle grips a garden hose for hands-free filling, and the lid supports up to 330 pounds, enough to serve as seating. The new colorways come in three sizes, from a 1.1-gallon mini to a 5.3-gallon extra-large.
“The lidded buckets are exceptionally versatile,” Stewart says. “They are ideal for all kinds of outdoor tasks and double as stools, side tables, coolers, and compost bins. Use them indoors to store everything from children’s toys and treasures to pet food and crafting supplies.”
The Green Beetle Watering Can has a grooved spout for a softer water flow. Photography by Megan Senior.
The Garden Beetle Watering Can, recognized with the Red Dot Design Award and Japan’s Good Design Award, pours through a widened spout with grooved channels.
“The watering cans have a grooved spout,” Stewart explains, “so the water flows more like a sprinkler than a hose, and the open-top design makes it easier to incorporate plant food—no more clogged nozzles.”
The smaller of the two sizes, 0.4 gallons, nests inside the 1.3-gallon larger one for storage. Both designs are molded in recyclable polypropylene, free of phthalates and PFAS, and finished to withstand sun exposure.
The collection is available now through chilewich.com, the Chilewich Store in New York City, and selected retailers worldwide.
