Nahoko Yamazaki
Originally from Kanagawa. Yamazaki grew up surrounded by textiles and sewing tools, with a grandmother who worked a great deal with fabric and thread, and even at a young age she was already making her own pencil cases and bags by hand. Given this background, she went to a design-oriented high school and college. One of her teachers in college encouraged her to look into the Kanazawa Utatsuyama Kogei Kobo craft workshop, and so, following graduation, she moved to Kanazawa to pursue her craft there.
Brought to Dyeing by an Upbringing Full of Textiles
During college, Yamazaki was presented with various artistic media from which to choose her focus — dyeing, weaving, glass, ceramics — and selected dyeing due to the love of the medium instilled in her by her grandmother. She was drawn to stencil dyeing in particular, not only because of her enjoyment of the handicraft itself, but also because of the excitement of never knowing quite how something will turn out until the entire process from applying the paste to drying the fabric and finally washing it clean.
Creating Designs That Defy Conventional Wisdom
Much of Yamazaki’s work incorporates themes that are rarely encountered in artistic designs: peeled and sliced apples, hands made into fists, screws, sliced white bread, matchsticks, and more. Her adopted home of Ishikawa gets very snowy winters, making it hard to go out much that time of year, so she often draws inspiration from trips to home centers to shop for fabric and other materials.
Made for the Moment You Reach Out to Touch It
Whether it’s the design, the color, or whatever else that draws you to one of Yamazaki’s items, she hopes above all else that her works continue to entice people to hold them in their hands. Her main focus is on items that are used as a part of everyday life, adding a special feel that enriches otherwise mundane moments.
