My Inspirations
One of the most memorable things we did when I was growing up was to visit Mayan ruins with my father. He would teach us how to read Mayan hieroglyphs and explain the fascinating culture of Maya (ancient and contemporary). These trips undoubtedly influenced my aesthetics. Another influence was Japanese aesthetics, traditional and modern. The cleanliness of design, its relentless simplification, and its wab-sabi sentiment. These influences are so fundamental to me that I cannot begin to untangle and pin point them.
I was born and raised in Guatemala. My parents, who are Japanese, met in Guatemala in the 60’s and they still live there. Back then, it was rare for a young artist/designer to leave Japan, but it was rarer still for a single woman in her twenties to go out of Japan. Even today the resistance younger Japanese people seem to feel about going out of Japan, let alone moving out altogether, is surprising. So, you might say that the two black sheep that were my parents, met in Guatemala and raised a family of black sheep.
My father, amongst many things he did, was a natural dye researcher. Us kids were allowed to do batik and my father would dye it for us.
Recently, I dyed a shirt for a friend as a payment for his photography service (we artists brimming with creativity, but short in funds do a lot of bartering). He LOVED the shirt and kept on egging me on to make more and do it more seriously. After several great successes in live events, I decided that it might be time to dive into the online world to offer what I have.
The Indigo Rabbit Hole
The indigo rabbit hole that I have fallen into, is a deep one. The process of batik and indigo is rather simple, but, there is so much you can do! I started with simple designs, but, recently have found myself drawn to more complex and intricate design. More work, but, very rewarding. Also, I am starting to experiment with combining shibori (traditional Japanese shape-resist technique) with batik. I understand that this is not common and is shunned by some hardline traditionalists, but, I am surprised that there aren’t more people doing this combination. It is very exciting and the creative opportunity widens exponentially.
Why choose our apparel?
01.
You won’t find this type of apparel anywhere else. For a good a reason. They are incredibly time consuming and labor intensive. Each piece is hand-made and unique, no two are alike.
02.
The process of batik is so labor intensive that it is often not considered to be a good fit for t-shirts, however, I am willing to put in the labor to make these.
03.
You will stand out because of the apparel, but, not in a gaudy, loud, or in-your-face way. But, rather in a warm, unique, authentic, and down-to-earth way.
04.
These apparel are closer to art pieces for me than just a hand-crafted shirts. And the price reflects that.