FAQ

No One Is Going To Read This -My Tech Support Experience

Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions page! It has a whole ass page now, because I get these, you guessed it, frequently.

Do you sell your kimonos?
Not typically. I generally only buy things that I personally like or feel drawn to. I’m not trying to make money off of this hobby.

Do you have a store?
Nope–and I never will.

Will you sell me a specific kimono, pretty please?
Probably not.

Can I borrow a kimono?
…no.

Will you test a specific product for me?
Probably! Let me know what you want to see!

Are you actually a lizard?
Some kind of rodent, actually.

I have a question/comment/concern/correction/complaint!
Neat. Message me what it is, or leave a comment where your concern is, and we can talk about it. We learn better together!

Where do you get your kimono/kitsuke items/OMG how do you find this shit?!
All kinds of places! One of my unhealthy obsessions skills is searching for weird things that people might mistake things for, or misspellings. I get a surprising number of things by looking for the wrong thing. It is horrifyingly time consuming, and also the best way to spend time in a waiting room.

I have a _________ stain on my kimono/obi/kitsuke item! Can you help me?
Probably! Drop a comment in the relevant entry or visit my contact page and drop me a line, and we can try to figure it out. Let’s get weird!

I’m not confident enough to do my repairs, will you do them for me?
Oof. Probably not. I do make exceptions, but I will probably tell you no or at least try to walk you through what to do as closely as I can. But the fact of the matter is when the property is my own, then I take on all of the risks and nobody else has to worry about it. I’m not a museum. I’m not a business. I don’t have insurance to protect either of us if I fuck up your kimono. Yes, I’m very careful, and I have yet to terminally fuck a kimono–but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

What if I pay you? Will you fix it then? Even if I understand the risks?
That does nothing for your chances. I’m not trying to make this a business of any kind. I just do this for the love of it.

Do you have a tutorial on _________?
If I don’t, chances are I’m working on one or I’m otherwise still learning to do it. Some tutorials are easier than others to get out, because I can show you on almost any item. But other tutorials require me to have an item at the ready with the specific problem. For example, I’m working on a tutorial about handling dye bleeding. The problem is, I need more kimonos with examples of dye bleeding for this. If you have a problem but don’t see a tutorial for it, reach out! I might know what to do, even if I don’t have enough material to make a well rounded tutorial yet!

Can you tell me how old my kimono is?
Probably! Or I can at least get you in the ballpark. Let’s have a look!

Can you tell me what my kanji says?
Absolutely not. I can stare at it like a confused goldfish, though, and that might be fun.

Can you tell me how much my kimono is worth?
Uuughh. I hate this question. Sort of? I can tell you what I’ve seen things go for. I can tell you where to look. I can tell you what I’ve paid for things. I can tell you what might be worth getting a professional appraisal for and what you have. I do not attempt to slap a monetary value on things I cannot inspect personally, and I won’t.

I have this thing I think is a kimono, can you tell me about it?
Yes. Let’s do it!

I want to send you this kimono to fix. You can keep it.
Okay, that’s not a question, but since it’s a thing that’s happened a non-zero number of times, I feel the need to address it. Yes, you can send me things to fix like this. Yes, I’ll link back to you (if applicable) if you do. I do ask you show me what you want to send, and I do reserve the right to refuse an item. Not gonna lie, this subject makes me nervous. I didn’t start this to get presents, and I don’t feel right taking things left and right from people–plus I don’t need a pile of things I don’t really want just for the sake of them. If you end up sending me a kimono for restoration under these circumstances (See: this uchikake), I will treat it with the utmost love and care, and I will detail it well. I will also curse at it every step of the way because that is what I do.

You’re not Japanese. Is it really okay for you to be doing this?
I want to treat this subject gently because the world is on fire. But seeing as how my last name is Mitsui, and how this is only an attitude I encounter stateside, I will take the advice that Grandma Mitsui, whose family lost their kimono and heirlooms in the internment camps, gave to me some time ago, “If someone feels the need to ridicule this, you should respectfully invite them to share with you the kimono they’ve restored.”

Why do you curse so goddamn much?
I don’t fucking know!

Do you only buy trainwrecks?
No.

Will you buy my trainwreck?
Maybe, let’s see it.

Do you have a Patreon?
Nope.

Do you ever accept donations?
I’ll take items to restore. Do not send me money. If you send me money, I will either send it back to you or donate it to one of the many Japanese American internment museums and foundations. If you think you want to give me money for something, maybe go there and donate instead.

I am the descendant of an internment survivor, and I have a kimono that needs repaired; will you help me?
YES.

I am the descendant of an internment survivor, and I think you have one of my family’s kimono. Can I have it back?
Let’s talk. I have a lot of experience with scammers because of my background in technical support, so I’m not just going to hand out kimono to everyone who says that one of mine belongs to them. I will need some modicum of proof. If we can determine a kimono in my possession is from your family, I will send it home.

Will you come speak at my panel/class/meeting/thing?
Send me a message!