In September 2023, Textile Center was honored to welcome artist Maki Aizawa for a talk on her personal journey with traditional kimono making. Maki will share her experiences growing up in the Sendai Kimono Training School in Japan, as well as her current design work and collaborations with Amu — a non-profit organization that she founded to bring together arts, cultures, and communities.

Artist Bio:

Maki Aizawa, a daughter of Tsuyo, is an artist and designer based in California and Asuka in Japan. Kimono-making has long been a part of Maki’s life, and she cherishes the memories of a childhood living with the students of the Aizawa Sendai Kimono Making/Training School, surrounded by all things related to sewing kimonos by hand – a rich array of silks, brocades, cottons, pattern books, and special Japanese threads and needles. In 2021, Maki created her own brand, Kamiko that brought together a women’s collective of licensed kimono makers in the Tohoku region of Japan, to put a contemporary spin on kimono traditions, creating designs that can be incorporated into everyday life. Maki also leads a non-profit organization called Amu, which supports indigenous artists from Japan, and is currently writing a book on kimono making with artist Veronika Schaepers. makiaizawa.com