Thanks to you, Atelier Shimura will be celebrating its 8th anniversary this November.
I have renewed my determination to approach manufacturing with sincerity and deepen my thoughts further.
When weaving a fabric, some warp threads are inevitably left over. We carefully preserved these threads and used them as new warp threads to create the fabric we call "Mijinkoori." This name was given to us by us, and comes from the scene of random stripes spreading across the entire kimono, as if they were faint fragments of light. The preparation of the warp threads requires calculations in advance, so there is a very mathematical aspect to it, but since the warp threads are leftover threads, Mijinkoori creates an unpredictable and random fabric. Just as my grandmother Shimura Fukumi's first work, "Autumn Mist," used leftover threads as "connecting threads" and woven them as weft threads, "Mijinkoori" is woven by arranging the leftover threads in the warp threads. What both works have in common is the love for things and the spirit of rags.
In the past, women who were too poor to buy thread would weave leftover thread for their families using it, and this fabric is called boro weaving. It was Yanagi Muneyoshi who was fascinated by the beauty of these fabrics. My grandmother was deeply influenced by Yanagi and went into dyeing and weaving, but the spirit of boro was always at the core of her work. The beauty that can be felt from the unpredictable power of the thread and the infinity of the lines may be an unartificial "other-powered beauty."
This year marks my grandmother's 100th birthday, and I created a "Bijinkoori" kimono as a symbol of her artistic spirit. I will also be unveiling a new obi, "Mina Obi Anemone x Tambourine," a collaboration with Mina Perhonen, so I hope you will take a look at both.

Atelier Shimura Representative Masashi Shimura

Date and time: Friday, November 1, 2024 to Tuesday, November 26, 2024, 12:00-18:00, closed Wednesdays and Thursdays
Venue: Atelier Shimura Shop & Gallery Kyoto Main Store
600-8018 Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Shimogyo Ward, Kawaramachi-dori Shijo Sagaru Ichinomachi 251-2 Kotobuki Building 2F
Exhibits: Kimono, obi, bags, obijime, obiage, stoles, etc.
Inquiry tel: 075-585-5953 email: info@ateliershimura.co.jp

Obi: Mina Obi Anemone x Tambourine