Our Journal
We have visited most continents and many countries. From small villages to ever expanding megacities. We are honored to have established strong bonds with various heritage, culture and craft rich communities.
A match made in Okinawa...
09/27/2024
Some years ago, just before the pandemic in January 2020, we travelled to Okinawa with our dear friend Julien Colombier. On our journey we met with Kiyosaku and Tomo, who are the founders of Okinawa brand Aloha Blossoms. This was the beginning of a friendship that led to creating beautiful shirts or in other words wearable art pieces. For this second edition of our collaboration "OKINAWADELIC", Julien’s complex multi coloured drawings are broken down into 16 frames of silk screens and are printed and sewn with the finest Japanese precision.
Introducing Harris Elliot from Le Tings
07/27/2024
Harris Elliott is the creative mastermind behind Le Tings. He is a visual storyteller originating from London with a long history of working in Japan. With heritage to both the Caribbean and African culture he embodies the Black British spirit. Le Tings is an ongoing commentary and visual celebration of Africa and its diaspora cultures through the lens of street markets and their raw sensibilities. Repurposing narratives that relate to sustainability of culture is one of the key brand values.
Natural Pima cotton scarf
06/28/2024
When we first encountered the silk like touch of natural pima cotton it immediately made us want to make scarfs. Our fascination of beautifully screen printed scarfs was always in the back of our minds, however, we wanted a more contemporary look to compliment unique hand feel of the pima cotton fabric. The quality of the screen printing had to be equally beautiful and when we were introduced to one of the best textile printers in Japan we could finally start our Natural Pima Cotton Scarf Project.
Our Natural Pima cotton story
06/11/2024
In 2019 we introduced our first cotton collection using 100% natural Pima cotton, which originates from the northwestern regions of South America. Travelling extensively throughout Peru and Bolivia for over a decade, we discovered the long history of Pima cotton and its importance to the Indigenous people’s textile heritage. Pima and other species of cotton were widely grown for centuries with the first clear sign of domestication dating back to 4200 BCE.
Ryukyu Blues Project
06/12/2024
Ryukyu Indigo Labo endeavours to preserve Okinawa's unique indigo tradition by ensuring the knowledge and wisdom of the process is recorded for future generations. Ryukyu is the ancient name for the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa. Ryukyu aizome is Okinawa’s traditional indigo dyeing technique dating back several centuries.
New arrivals from Tohoku Project
06/11/2024
This project is formed through partnerships with small businesses and crafts people in the region of Tohoku, which in March 2011 experienced the devastating tsunami created by the country’s most powerful earthquake to date. For this project we have collaborated with friends who share our ideals.
Palestinian heritage and craftsmanship
06/11/2024
Amidst the current devastation in Palestine we wanted to share what we learnt on our many travels to this beautiful country. During our first journey to occupied Palestine’s West Bank in 2012, we witnessed the extreme injustice and discrimination the Palestinian people were facing every day. In many ways it reminded us of our late father’s stories he had told us after visiting South Africa during apartheid in the late 80’s.
The magical quality of Alpaca
06/12/2024
Alpaca fibre has a naturally soft and comforting feel that you can wear next to your skin. The unique hollow core of it's fibre gives the alpaca wool a natural insulation that keeps body heat in or lets it out according to the temperature of the surrounding environment. The various qualities of alpaca wool is graded and named through the range of its circumference. The thinner the fibre, the better the hand feel and softness.
Suri Alpaca
06/12/2024
Suri alpaca is one of two breeds of the alpaca. It is known for it’s characteristic fleece coat, which is very long haired and silky. The Suri alpaca breed is thought to be less than 10% of the global alpaca population making it one of the rarest fine fibre animals in the world.
Winter greetings from Bristol, Osaka and Okinawa
06/05/2024
After a busy autumn period, traveling around in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, winter has slowly but surely begun. We are excited to be dropping many new styles and accessories to our online shop to suit your needs in these cooling conditions.
Tohoku Project together with Bacar
08/23/2024
Summer is coming to a close though the hot weather is till upon us. We have been busy working on exciting collaborations with our community of friends within our Tohoku project and planning exciting trips to Bolivia and Peru later in October 2023, which we will of course update you on.
Welcome to our new journal!
06/05/2024
We are happy that you have joined us on our new journey and together we can explore how to create a fairer, kinder and more sustainable future. Our hope is to engage and expand in the already widespread movement for positive impact socially and environmentally. We will keep you informed with our latest project and ideas, share exciting stories and of course keep you up to date with the latest shop drops.
