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By Patricia Belyea
SUMOTO JP When two young, creative people from opposite sides of the world met in Osaka 14 years ago, there was a spark.
Sally Hancox, a British woman, and Junichi Okada, a Japanese man, knew they wanted to be together. At first, they considered England, but ultimately, they chose Japan.
Nine years ago, with Sally expecting their first child, the two moved to Sumoto on Awaji Island. They rented a big, traditional wooden house just ten minutes from a picture-perfect beach.
Their dyeing endeavors began with making curtains for their home using shibori and chemical indigo. Living close to Tokushima Prefecture, however, they soon learned about natural indigo and sukumo.
Today the couple has three children and run AiAii, a natural indigo studio/shop in downtown Sumoto. They offer both in-depth and quick dyeing workshops and create a range of hand-dyed products for their delightful shop.
Junichi has started making intriguing wall art using wood and indigo. His originality shines brightly.
With indigo farmers in decline, it’s becoming harder and harder to acquire sukumo—fermented indigo leaves for dyeing. So Sally and Junichi now grow and harvest indigo plants themselves, fermenting the leaves to make their own sukumo.
In their dyeing studio, six square vats are filled with indigo dye. To monitor each vat's vitality, Sally takes regular pH readings and records the dye’s intensity in a logbook.
A small door in the studio leads to the shop, filled with noren, scarves, T-shirts, socks, keychains, and more. The rack with children’s tops became a little sparser after my visit!
We definitely plan to include Sally and Junichi in our upcoming Blue Japan tour (October 2025). Their fresh approach to indigo and design is too compelling to miss!
AiAii
2-3-19 Kaigandori, Sumoto, Hyogo 656-0022
Telephone: 0799-20-5252
Instagram: @aiaii.blue
Website: https://aiaii.blue
Check ahead for hours.
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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
