My chaotic wanderings through creation and restoration.
Right off the bat, you're seeing me be real iffy about labeling what kind of kimono this is. And there's a pretty good reason for that. I'll get to it. I promise. I didn't just empty all of my knowledge into a ditch somewhere. Sooooo. Let's get right to it. Look at this insanity. I'm … Continue reading Restoration In Progress: Meiji Era Wedding Kimono
Even though you'd think that after eleven months I'd have literally any sense of discipline, I bought this, got to work on it, and said nothing about it. I took a few pictures and gushed about it with friends, but I didn't mention it literally anywhere else that matters and there's actually a few reasons … Continue reading Already In Progress: Antique Gilded Tsuru Furisode
So I have this big ass pile of shattered silk from a Taisho Era furisode laying around, staring at me in the night. Waiting for me to make a goddamn decision about what to do with it. It feels my anxiety. It feeds on my indecisive warbling, my desire to keep it just because it's … Continue reading Experiment: Shattered Silk Into Pigment
As you can see, even though I do a lot of restorations, I'm using the word preservation in this title. Well! Now seems like a good time to have this conversation, because I do make a distinction between the two, and it's a good question to ask: When do I decide that the goal is … Continue reading Preservation In Progress: Meiji Uchikake–Majestic Minogame
This one is close to my heart, so of course I've been driving myself the fuck insane working very hard on it. You'll remember this furisode that I stumbled on, and today I'd like to show you some of my progress. Stain removal has been very hit and miss with this one, so it's turned … Continue reading Update: Restoration In Progress– “Great Big White Birds”
Oftentimes in conversations with other kimono enthusiasts about stain removals, the first thing I describe doing other than possibly licking a stain like a goddamn psychopath is popping open a seam to get an absorbant material between the layers. What I have neglected to do thus far, however, is actually describe my procedure for doing … Continue reading Tutorial–Opening & Closing A Seam
Hanging Baskets Filled With Chrysanthemums And Adorned With Treasures On Blue Silk. I think that it is fair to say that all of my favorite kimono are oddballs. If there's something weird, unusual, or less than traditional about it, I'm all over it. The reason for this is actually rather simple: I'm fucking weird because … Continue reading Antique Kimono–Precious Little Details
Delicate Blue And Purple Blooms With Lush Green Foliage On Sheer Midnight Silk. I didn't really intend to buy this one when I threw it on my watch list. It's not an item in need of restoration or repair of any kind, and in truth I gueesss I don't really need another summer kimono. Then … Continue reading Antique Kimono–Midnight Summer
One of my habits is to collect small damaged items, and then hoard them like the bizarre little goblin that I am until I feel knowledgeable enough to attept to repair them. This is one of those stories. -Law & Order BLNK BLNK- Over the last few days, after tackling an entire iko (kimono stand), … Continue reading Antique Kougai Repair
Another one of my heroes has passed. I spent my night doing this instead of anything productive. I'm just really fucking sad right now.
Silk & Bones 