Japan, Saorinomori

In November I had the experience of a life-time and visited Japan for 16 days in November and December.

I attended a weaving course at the Saorinomori for a week, it was a dream. I was taught by Kenzo who has been weaving for 50 years and taught me everything about Saori weaving, its philosophy, techniques and why its so important to create human made textiles.

I wove everyday 10am-5pm, surrounded by other Japanese weavers from all different ages and abilities. I made warps, garments, samples and attended a dress making course. It really was an experience I will always treasure and its mindful philosophy will stay with me whenever I create.

The school was in a forest, and solar powered it had lots of natural lights, space and plenty of yarn to experiment with.

Highlights were creating my first woven garments, everyone leaving their shoes at the door and wearing red slippers around the school, attending a dress making class where everyone only spoke Japanese, letting go of planning, meeting and being taught by Kenzo and really understanding the saori philosophy.

I also came home with a lot of new yarn and 9 metres of weaving in my suitcase, couldn’t resist.