Amami Oshima Tsumugi
Curious Corner proudly represents Amami Oshima Tsumugi, the historic Pongee from one of the southernmost islands of Japan.
Upcoming Event:
Talk on mud-dyeing and Amami Oshima Tsumugi
With Charlotte Linton
Exhibition & Talk
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Curious Corner is pleased to invite Charlotte Linton, a designer and DPhil candidate in Anthropology at the University of Oxford. From 2017 to 2018, Linton spent one year in Amami Oshima, one of the southernmost islands in Japan, and apprenticed at a mud-dye studio Kanai Kougei. Linton will share her experience at the mud-dye house and introduce Amami Oshima Tsumugi, a historic craft of intricate silk Pongee which originated on the island. Rare kimono and textiles will be on display. Join us for an informal opportunity to learn this historic craft of Japanese textiles.
About Charlotte Linton
Charlotte Linton is a designer and anthropologist in her third year of her DPhil in Anthropology at the University of Oxford. Her research is part of an ongoing exploration into textile techniques, aesthetics, and histories, focusing on the social, environmental, and economic relationships that are formed during the production process. Using long-term participant observation and apprenticeship, her current research based in Japan looks at the contemporary production of textiles associated with the Oshima Tsumugiindustry of Amami Oshima. Her work questions the preservation of tradition looking at how traditions evolve to find their place in contemporary society, and the role that traditional crafts play in sustaining rural social networks, economies, and ecologies, particularly in light of issues surrounding internal migration and sustainability.
A graduate of Central Saint Martins, London, and the Royal College of Art, London, before studying anthropology Charlotte worked as a print and garment designer in the fashion and textiles industry. She launched the Charlotte Linton scarf label in 2009 that was sold globally, and has worked with designers such as Marc Jacobs and Kate Spade in New York, and Paul Smith and Hussein Chalayan in London. Charlotte has been featured in a diverse range of print and web based media and has also exhibited her work internationally, most prominently with a solo show at Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture in Glasgow.
WHEN:
Thursday, April 11, 2019
4:00PM Showroom Opens
6:30PM Talk starts
WHERE:
Curious Corners Showroom
242 W 27th St. #5A (bet. 7 & 8th Aves), New York, NY 10001.
RSVP to info@curiouscorners.com
Amami Oshima is an island located south of the main islands of Japan with a population of a little over 50,000. Located in a semi-tropical climate rich in natural resources and the connecting point of Japan, with China and Korea, this island incubated a unique culture and craft traditions of its own. It is now a popular resort destination in Japan.
Textile has long been one of the most significant crafts in Amami Oshima. The oldest document mentioning textiles from this island goes back to the 7th century. Linen, ramie and abaca were used for the islander’s daily wear. Luxury silk textiles from local silkworms developed through the 18th and 19th centuries, becoming one of the most important trade items for the local government. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, and as Japan was processing its modernization in the 20th century, Amami Oshima Tsumugi became even more popular as the branded textile. Artisans responded to the high demand by mastering ever more intricate weaving patterns.
The painstaking process to create rolls of Amami Oshima Tsumugi includes as many as 50 steps, requiring up to 6 months to create one roll (typically 40cm wide and 12 meter long). The hand-spun yarns are first tied according to a precisely calculated pattern. Master dyers first dye the yarns in a fermented local plant called “teichigi,’ next in a mud puddle. The process is repeated up to 80 times to attain colors that range from silver to luminous black. When a skein is dipped in the dye bath, the color does not penetrate the tied areas, creating a yarn that is partly white and partly colored. Master weavers then hand-loom the pre-dyed yarns with absolute precision to complete feather-light silk textile with breathtakingly intricate patterns.
Samples of Amami Oshima Tsumugi are available for viewing and order at Curious Corners Studio. Please email info@curiouscorners.com to make an appointment.
Past Event:
Meet the textile artisans of Amami Oshima Tsumugi
Exhibition & Workshop
January 15 & 16, 2019
Curious Corners proudly invites two artisans from Amami Oshima, Shingo Minami and Tadaaki Hajime, to our new showroom in Manhattan. We will host a special exhibition and workshop featuring this craft in collaboration with Japan Fashion Week Organization. Minami and Hajime will provide natural dye from the island and lead the workshops.
This is a rare opportunity to meet these textile artisans, learn their techniques using natural dye, and discuss potential collaborations with them!
Location:
Curious Corners Showroom
242 W 27th St. #5A (bet. 7 & 8th Aves),New York, NY 10001.
Schedule:
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
1:00 - 4:00pm Exhibition open by appointment.
Please email to info@curiouscorners.com
6:00-8:00pm Reception
Special Shochu and snacks from Amami Oshima will be served.
Please RSVP: info@curiouscorners.com
Wednesday, January, 16, 2019
10:00am-5:30pm Exhibition open by appointment.
Please email: info@curiouscorners.com
6:00-7:30pm Workshop
You will be learning the process of Amami Oshima Tsumugi and dyeing handkerchiefs with the natural dye of Amami Oshima.
$45 per seat. Purchase workshop tickets here.
Samples of Amami Oshima Tsumugi will be available for viewing by appointment after January 17.