Amy, a longtime champion of Japanese arts and crafts, owned Blue & White for over 40 years. Unfortunately, the shop closed at the end of last year due to a dramatic rent increase.
We began our morning with Amy telling personal stories. How did a girl from Massachusetts end up making a life in Japan? And why did Amy — who doesn’t sew — collect old, quirky, tattered, faded, holey, and patched textiles?
As Amy revealed piece after piece, it became clear why she treasures these folk textiles. A simple beauty and spirit radiated from her handmade futon covers, kimono, furoshiki, horse trappings, diapers, and more. They were irresistible.
Her textile collection included examples of katazome, tsutsugaki, kasuri, shibori, sashiko, and sakiori. Plus bundles of boro clothing, each exposing lifetimes of hardship and poverty.
Wrapping up our time together, Amy and her daughter Sayako served green tea and homemade brownies as we browsed the mini Blue & White pop-up shop on the dining room table.
This was just the first stop of our tour. Could it get any better?
Thank you Amy and Saya for hosting us! And sharing your remarkable Japanese textiles!
Follow Amy on Instagram: @blueandwhite_tokyo
ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria sell Japanese textiles online, host creative quilting experiences, and lead quilting & textile tours to Japan.
FOLLOW OKAN ARTS ON INSTAGRAM @okanarts
