My chaotic wanderings through creation and restoration.
Eighty-one years ago today, the United States government made the decision to order the immediate relocation and internment of all persons of Japanese origin, citizen or non. The victims of this order were given nearly no notice and told they could bring only what they could carry. They couldn't keep properties owned or pack their … Continue reading Day of Remembrance–Executive Order 9066
A Flock Of Doves In Flight Over Wild Waves And Majestic Gold And Silver Pine On Decadent Red Silk. On July the 24th, 2021 I posted this entry, after a bloody and violent bidding war for this kimono. For those joining this story here are the end, this is a piece that has been lost … Continue reading Restoration Complete: Great Grandma Akiye’s Furisode. “Great Big White Birds”
I wanted to do something special for someone special to me. I actually did this quite some time ago, but I wanted to keep it quiet until the recipient of the wallet was ready to show it off. It really is a work of art. All I did was clean it up. This was a … Continue reading I Did A Thing: Fixing Up A Meiji Era Wallet For Love
So. We left off last time with a delightful trip into respiratory distress lacquer thinner hell blue-grey shabby chic fuckery removing the shell from the upper portion of the tansu. For a quick recap, here: Cleared off the shit paint without managing to damage my teeth from all of the fucking clenching, restored the locks, … Continue reading Abused Antique Tansu Round Two: Electric Boogaloo
I want you to know, as I started writing this, that I have the pictures of the damage in a folder literally called "MessyAssHikiWhatever." And when I made the decision to buy this, I actually knew I was in for some of this mess. But this particular seller posts a set number of pictures with … Continue reading Restoration: Antique Hikifurisode
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
Typically when I am trying products for stain removals, I like to have tested them a lot. I want a metric fuck ton of data to be able to provide for a product before I even think about making a tutorial about it. I need to know how it behaves. What it's good at, what … Continue reading Tutorial: Vintage Kimono Stain Removal – Laundress Wash & Stain Bar Edition
Some time ago, I wrote up this entry covering the vinegar stain removal method. I love the vinegar method because it's damn near harmless when employed correctly. But I hate the vinegar method because it can take forfuckingever. Which isn't to say that I'm not a patient person. The nice part about it taking forever … Continue reading Tutorial: Vintage Kimono Stain Removal — Gentle Detergent Edition
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
Silk & Bones 