It's been a while since I updated my blog.
I've been so busy since working on Silverlake's shop that I had so many things I wanted to talk about, but months have passed without any updates. Still, if I don't start writing, I won't be able to fully share the memories I had when I went buying trip in Japan in February of this year, so I'm going to encourage myself and start writing.

First up is Kata Kata, a unit that produces original dyed fabrics using stencil dyeing, pour dyeing, and printing. I was drawn to their adorable animal designs and beautiful color sense, and even though I own several of them myself, I wanted to introduce them to my store, so I visited their workshop.

Their workshop is located on the edge of Tokyo. (About an hour by train from Shibuya...)
The building is located in a renovated area of ​​apartment buildings that were once built during Japan's period of high economic growth and are now gradually becoming obsolete. The workshop was located in a very quiet residential area with lots of greenery.

The two members of Kata Kata who welcomed us, Takeshi Matsunaga and Chie Takai, had a kind and cheerful impression that reminded us of the works they create.

Inside the workshop, there were many of their works, as well as plates used for pattern dyeing.

In the first place, stencil-dying refers to a method of using paper patterns to place resist-dye paste on woven cloth, washi paper, boards, etc., and then dyeing the cloth with pigments or dyes.
First, paper patterns carved with various patterns are placed on cloth such as cotton or linen, Japanese paper, or a board, and a resist dyeing paste made from starch powder or bran is evenly applied to the entire paper pattern to dye it.
Only the area where the glue is placed will be resist dyed, so the color will not be dyed, and the rest will be dyed uniformly.
After that, it undergoes treatments such as steaming, then is thoroughly washed with clean water and dried.

Particularly known folk art artists include Keisuke Serizawa and Samiro Yunoki, who sadly passed away this year.

All of Kata Kata's works are truly wonderful, as they incorporate the unique color gradation and color combinations of stencil dyeing into modern motifs, which are reminiscent of those masters that I love.

They shared many things, including original versions, prototypes that were not sold, and animals that were not commercialized, and we never ran out of things to talk about, and we talked about many things until the very last minute for our next appointment.
We decided to hold a workshop in future in Los Angeles this time and said goodbye to them that day.
The Kata Kata products that arrived just yesterday were so adorable, and it brought back the fun times and feelings I had when I visited their workshop.
We hope that you too can find a piece with your favorite motif.

Check out about Kata Kata Collection.