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September 2013

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Welcome to Switzerland, Mrs.Oikawa and Mrs.Kanno!

 

Tohoku Grandmas on their business meeting at Modissa Zürich

Tohoku Grandmas stay in Zürich started with a business meeting at Modissa in Zürich. Modissa is a traditional department store specialized for women’s wear and knit, located at the main shopping street of Zürich called Bahnhofstrasse. Mr.Jan Pierre Kuhn was interested to see the products of designed my me and hand made by the Tohoku Grandmas of Rikuzentakata. Mrs.Oikawa and Mrs.Kanno did present the tote-bagsa and Kinchaku pouches in a very touching and charming way. Well done and congratulations! We are sure that soon their products will be show cased at Bahnhofstrasse in Zürich!

 

The first trip to Bernina International at Steckborn, who did invite the grandmas to Switzerland

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Mrs.Oikawa and Mrs.Kanno did enjoy being introduced to the process of manufacturing Bernina sewing machines in Steckborn. In front of Bodensee, a lake facing three countries; Switzerland, Germany and Austria. After a boat trip they did visit Stein am Rhein, the most impressive waterfall of Europe.

 

Kimono Sweing and Furoshiki Performence in BERNINA Zurich with Tohoku Grandmas

We were overwhelmed by so many guests joining the evening with the grandmas. Mrs. Oikawa is a professional Kimono tailor since 20 years and until the earthquake she hand stitched approximately 260 Kimono per year. There was no day which she did spend without holding a needle. Since 3.11 she stopped making Kimonos. For that evening she did find the motivation to start again and did complete a Yukata in front of the audience. It was a very touching moment for all of us and we enjoyed it a lot to share this special moment with her. Mrs.Kanno did present how to wrap a gift with Furoshiki and the guests did like it a lot. It shows the spirit of Kimono and it is very ecological way to warp a gift. It was the premiere of my new design, a needle cushion made with ceramics and Japanese print.We did sell a lot of them and received more orders. We would like to thank Bernina Zürich for making this event possible!

 

Kimono Sweing and Furoshiki Performence in Museum Bellerive Zurich with Tohoku Grandmas

Museum Bellerive is located right next to the lake of Zürich and is one of the most beautiful museums of Switzerland. At the occasion of an exhibition “The Empire of Folds – Fashion and Textile Art from Japan” we had the great opportunity to present Tohoku Grandmas performances again. At this day the museum was completely full by visitors wanting to meet the grandmas and learn about their textile skills. It was a tremendous success which non of us did expect in such scale. Many thanks to Mrs. Jacqueline Greenspan and Ms. Sonja Gutknecht for making this event possible!

 

Farewell party at my parent’s home

July 2013

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The Tohoku Grandmas are coming to Switzerland

In Summer 2013 I visited the Grandmas to prepare their trip to Switzerland. Their debuting product which I did design few month ago is ready to be presented in Zürich. I was very happy to see how enthusiastic and motivated the grandmas are. I had a chance to visit Mrs.Oikawa at her parents home, where she did start to cut her very fist Kimono for the first time after 3.11. It was a very special and personal moment for me to see her getting back to her profession of a Kimono tailor. Mrs.Kanno did show us her house which she and her husband did build one month ago. She said she was lucky to be the first of the grandmas to build her own house after tsunami, because they did own a property on the hill side of Rikuzentakata. See you again in Zürich!

October 2011

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In October 2011 I visited Rikuzentakta for the first time. What was awaiting me there was beyond my imagination.
I thought I was prepared to face the reality of the situation there, because my mother and sister had shared reports with me of their visit for voluntary work soon after March 2011. But when I arrived, I was so shocked. The entire city had been completely destroyed, and an overwhelming and depressing emptiness ruled.
I felt extremely powerless and asked myself:
“Is there anything I can do at all?”
During this visit, I donated five sewing machines to Takata High School, which had been completely damaged by the tsunami and forced to move into a temporary location in a former agricultural school further up the country. This donation was made possible by a wonderful partnership with Bernina International, who generously sponsored the project.
My aims were to show the students the pleasure of being creative during such a difficult time, to encourage them not to give up, and to demonstrate that it is possible to make one’s passion a profession.
At Takata Senior High School, the director, Mr.Kudo, the vice-director, Mr.Funakoshi, and the home economics teacher, Mrs.Yamaguchi, welcomed me warmly.
That day Mr.Kudo said something I have never forgotten:
“Financial and material donations are certainly important. What is much more important is that you don’t forget about the children. Please come and visit us again.”
These words convinced me to visit Rikuzentakata as much as possible and to continue with my commitment.