My (lovely and very patient) teacher Emma Omote demonstrates
Next up is the loom. You have to get the threads onto the loom itself. This involves pulling each individual thread through something that looks like a needle eye, and then a tiny hole in a giant metal comb. Repeat x 180! There is something akin to a zen meditation about this process…
Next up: time for weaving at last!!
More posts from school here: Preparing and dyeing the thread / Preparing giant bobbins / Preparing the warp
(The next instalment from Kawashima Textile School…)
By Day 4 of school it is time to prepare the warp (and by now I am secretly wondering whether I actually get to do any weaving at all…!) I cannot believe how much preparation goes into this craft, and I will never look at a piece of fabric in the same way again. Respect to professional weavers!
Back soon, preparing the loom…
(Earlier posts here: (1) Preparing and dyeing the thread, (2) Preparing the giant bobbins
(Part 2 of my tales from Kawashima Textile School…)
Once all the threads have been dyed, they need to be put onto big wooden bobbin-type things. When I think of the word bobbin I think of the tiny metal thing that goes in my sewing machine – but these wooden bobbins (‘kiwaku’ in Japanese) are huge!
This stage is important in order to stop the threads getting tangled when you prepare the warp (coming up in the next post).
All these things I didn’t know I didn’t know…
Next time we get the warp ready…
For the past couple of weeks I have been studying weaving at Kawashima Textile School in the north of Kyoto. It was a wonderful, quiet reflective experience, where I was treated to one-to-one tuition. Over the next few days I will share a series of posts showing the process that I learnt.
I will begin with dyeing the thread… First I tried natural dyes, and loved going out into the school’s garden, picking biwa (loquat) leaves and using them to colour the wool. I also tried ‘yamamomo’ which translates as ‘mountain peach’.
Depending on the metal-based ‘mordant’ used, a range of colours were possible. These (above) are the six colours I ended up with using natural dyes. And then I tried chemical dyeing…
Weighing out the chemicals to get the exact colour mix I had chosen
The lovely Hori-sensei, Master of Colour, shows me how to dye evenly
I also tried acid dyeing, which produced a more vivid palette.
These are the threads I used for weaving during my time at school.
Stay tuned for more in the coming days…
When we decided to come out to Japan to spend a few months, I knew that one of the things I wanted to do was take some lessons in photography/styling. Out here they call it ‘photostyling’, and they even have a formal association for it.
I found a teacher here in Kyoto who lives out west, among a green expanse of paddy fields. Once a month I have to take a sweet little train for 20 minutes or so, away from the city, past a stunning gorge and out to the beginning of the countryside. I love the little adventure, and the prospect of learning more about my beloved camera (as well as learning how to take better photos of all that lovely stationery…)
This month’s theme was flowers – and in an attempt to understand more about the different settings on my camera, I took a lot of shots of the same thing! It was interesting to see how the light and shadows changed between each image. Can’t wait to find out more…
The Japan Hobby Show was crazy. Literally thousands of craft lovers in one place, oohing and ahhing over buttons and ribbons, fawning over fabric, patiently queueing up for workshops.
And I was one of them!
I went to get some inspiration for The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, and snapped some gorgeous eye candy – the images above and below are from my favourite stand from Scandinavian design company Tilda.
Now if this doesn’t make you want to stitch up an apron or cushion I don’t know what will!
I took a little workshop from Japanese collage artist and illustrator Yoko Inoue. Her work is really beautiful – she uses photos she takes herself, shrinks them down on a colour photocopier, then works them into gorgeous collages in muted colours.
In less than an hour there wasn’t much time to get into it, but it was fun to have a play around with all the free supplies! I used a couple of postcards of Lily Greenwood’s art in mine.
For the latest information about the Japan Hobby Show click HERE.
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I’m on a big adventure in Japan right now. If you fancy an adventure of your own why not join me for the Do What You Love e-course? Shake things up, expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and feed your creative soul. Identify your passion and make it a greater part of your every day life! Find out more and register here. But hurry, class starts soon!
It is really hard to put your finger on just what it is that Japanese people do that makes everything so beautiful, but there is definitely something. They have this aesthetic sense which I have never seen anywhere else in the world – simple, perfectly imperfect (see ‘wabi sabi’), treating space and shadows with as much respect as objects and light. Look at the photo above, taken in this lovely shop at Gotenzeki – a cluster of beautiful shops and cafes just of the main street in Yamagata City.. Someone has just put some berries on a stick next to a teapot, but somehow it is a work of art!
And the buildings at Gotenzeki below – so serene yet cool at the same time. I know I will come back to this time and again while here, but this gorgeous little arcade of shops and cafes (designed by Yamagata-born sports car designer Ken Okuyama) really got me thinking…
The coolest drainpipe I have ever seen
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I am currently on a big adventure in Japan. If you fancy an adventure of your own, why not join me for the Do What You Love e-course (Japan edition!). Find out more and register here.
Paris and paper are an intoxicating combination. One particular street in the 4th Arondissement, rue du Pont Louis-Phillippe, is home to Calligrane (I literally couldn’t speak this shop was so beautiful), Papier Plus and Melodies Graphiques. The handmade paper, precision and care of display, beauty and textures on every surface, ahhhhhh it was just perfect.
Take a look…
I also love Intaglio which has shops in both the North and South of Paris.
Take a look at this fab little video from Jamie Kripke/Visa which gives you a glimpse inside Melodies Graphiques.
More Paris posts here: Parisian markets / Paris story / Parisian cafes / Paris details / Window shopping in Paris
Stole away from my desk for a little trip to Paris a week ago, visiting my first ever trade show and trying out my new camera. It was just what I needed, even though it was for ‘work’. I also had the most wonderful crazy serdipitous happening occur, but more about that another day.
All this week I am going to share some photo stories of my wanderings. Forgive me for my lack of words this week – running, running, running – and anyway, Paris doesn’t need words…
More Paris posts here: Parisian markets / Paris story / Les papeteries / Parisian cafes / Paris details / Window shopping in Paris
I was in Paris researching The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design – join us for the next course starting in April!
Making notes with the help of Pia Jane Bijkerk’s lovely book ‘Paris: Made by Hand’
So excited to be heading off to Paris tomorrow with Rachael Taylor for my first ever design trade show. Love Paris. Cannot wait!
Any recommendations gladly received (especially of the papery or wine-related variety!)