Learn From Our Master Artisans

Atsushi Futatsuya

Atsushi Futatsuya was born into the third generation of a surviving Sashiko family in Gifu prefecture. He grew up with Sashiko, surrounded by thread, needles and lots of fabric. He launched the “Sashi.Co” project with his mother, Keiko, who has over forty years of experience with Sashiko stitching, to introduce their masterful works. Starting in 2017, he introduced the beauty and concept of Sashiko to the world through his storytelling and workshops.

Michel Garcia

Michel Garcia is a botanist, chemist, dyer, and naturalist. He is the founder of Couleur Garance (1998) in Lauris, France, and established Le Jardin Conservatoire de Plantes Tinctoriales (Botanical Garden of Dye Plants) in 2000 as a horticultural resource for chemists, natural dye researchers, and botanists. He has been instrumental in revitalizing the natural dye practice in France and abroad.

Hiroshi Murase

Wada and Murase, have developed 5 series shibori foundational workshops as part of the our program, covering Kumo, Miura, Kanoko, the variations and adaptations of shibori innovations, including historical and cultural background. The artisan shibori classes are supported learning to use the materials and tools used or designed by artisans in Japan. All workshops are taught by Murase, in Japan, while Wada facilitates from the SFS Annex in California.

Hiroshi Murase was born 4th generation into a textile family of shibori-stencil pattern making artisans in the traditional shibori production center of Arimatsu / Narumi. He has been deeply rooted in the art of shibori his whole life, well versed in a wide rage of shibori techniques. An internationally respected artisan and an enterprising designer, he has more than 40 years experience in the textile field. Currently, Murase is the chairman of the acclaimed Suzusan corporation. Having assumed the reins of the family business in 1971, Hiroshi Murase is widely credited for the “Suzusan innovation” due to his passion and experience.

Asif Shaikh

Asif Shaikh has been dedicated to the rich tradition of embroideries in India since a young age and continues to work tirelessly to promote the artistry and sustainability of this heritage craft.

He initiated WALKING HAND-IN-HAND in February 2016. Asif Shaikh and Villo Mirza, both Ahmedabad-based textile and fashion specialists, founded the Craft Design Society Art Foundation (CDS Art Foundation) with the aim to take beautiful, handcrafted Indian textiles to the world’s stage, to share space with the best global textile and fashion brands.

CDS Art Foundation organizes a one-of-a-kind fashion show in India, Walking Hand-in-Hand, with focus on co-design with artisans. They aim to connect artisans and leading designers as knowledge partners to produce a line of couture garments. Symbolically, the artisan and designer walk together on the fashion ramp, showing the vital role of the artisan in contemporary fashion creation.

Tomoko Torimaru

Dr. Tomoko Torimaru received her PhD from Donghua University, Shanghai, in 2004 for her studies on the history and technology of Chinese textiles. From 1995, she spent 15 years among the Miao People in Guizhou, China performing field research in collaboration with Sadae Torimaru. She is the author of and co-author of three books. She traveled around the world in search of tablet weaving and published her findings at the Textile Society of America’s symposium. She is currently a University lecturer in Japan.