Photo by Mika Nakasho, courtesy of D+E MARKET, Ayami Tsuchiya
Laboratorio quattro is known for their patchwork bojagi (or pojagi). As with other forms of patchwork, many small pieces of fabric are joined together to create something new and beautiful, in this case the result is a bojagi, a Korean wrapping cloth. In Korea, bojagi are used in daily life and are traditionally thought to wrap up good luck with the item inside.
Ayami Tsuchiya of Laboratorio quattro started creating with the goal of utilizing fabric scraps that would otherwise be thrown away. Using a sewing machine and hand stitching, she creates bojagi inspired by stained glass.
Ayami says she was awakened to the joy of handwork through days spent with her grandmother as a child.
“My parents both worked, so before I entered elementary school my grandmother would take care of me during the day. She could do both Western and Japanese dressmaking, and she raised nine children while working. When we spent time together our playtime took the form of sewing on buttons, mending mosquito nets, and doing other things with our hands.”
Instead of throwing away leftover buttons and/or fabric scraps, she and her grandmother would find interesting ways to use and enjoy them. This experience continues to inform Ayami’s work today.
“A Korean woman who lived next door taught me jogakbo (a Korean patchwork technique), which involves carefully sewing various fabric pieces together, one stitch at a time. This is the foundation for my current work.
When I was in junior high and high school, I used to fill up cardboard boxes with the little samples of fabric that came with my new clothes. I would sew them together, making longer and longer strips to use them as ribbons for gifts. One day, I noticed that a friend had tied one in her hair, which made me very happy. It was the first time I felt the joy of seeing someone use something I had made.
Now that I am working in earnest as ‘Laboratorio quattro,’ I feel that my childhood experiences and growing up so close to my grandmother have led me to where I am today.”
After studying fashion design at Kyoto Art Junior College (now Kyoto University of Art), Ayami worked for apparel brands and curated clothing boutiques. In the course of her work, she realized again and again that making clothes inevitably produces textile waste.
“I think the question of what to do about fabric scraps is a common dilemma for brands and designers. When I saw excess fabric piling up in the atelier, I wondered if there was something I could do to help, and that was the beginning of Laboratorio quattro. There were many people around me who made things, so I collected their scraps and odds and ends and then I would breathe new life into them. The brand concept of ‘connect with you’ was born out of the spirit of upcycling and connecting people.”
Using donated fabric, she has made rugs, bags, accessories, and a variety of other items, but found that bojagi pieces best showcase the quality of the textiles. When she held an exhibition of bojagi using imperfect fabrics with small flaws and uneven coloring, she found that it led to making new connections.
The "Traveling Pojagi" exhibition was held in the early summer of 2023 at two venues simultaneously. At "D+E MARKET / FLUFFY AND TENDERLY," located in a townhouse in Kyoto, the theme was the harmony between antiques and gauze linen bojagi. Across the street, "A Little Place" exhibited bojagi made with old ramie kasuri cloth.
To make ramie kasuri, fibers of ramie, a member of the nettle family, are used to make thread that is then woven into a fabric. Noriko Usami of "A Little Place" fell in love with the fabric at an antique market and now uses it to make clothing inspired by 100-year-old French work wear.
“It had never occurred to me to purchase materials for my work and I had not used antique fabrics before, but my perspective has changed after meeting Ms. Usami and encountering the beauty of 100-year-old Japanese cloth. Now, I want to try taking cloth that has its own story and transform it into something usable. I became more interested in making pieces that will appeal to people who appreciate the craftmanship of vintage and antique handwork.”
Based in Kyoto since 2020, Ayami has been devoting herself to creating and says she feels energized and fulfilled by the new encounters there. Even as she incorporates different ideas and materials, one constant of her work is how the image of stained glass continues to inform her bojagi.
“When I was traveling in Europe, I had the experience of standing in an Italian church as sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows. The colors and light seemed to shine through me, glistening and reflecting off the floor, and the whole church was filled with a wonderful brightness that left me transfixed. I stood there for a while, moved to tears and full of joy. I express that scene in my work with embroidered diamond accents that allow extra light to pass through the fabric. Just looking at it cheers me up, and I hope that some of this happiness can reach those who see my work, too.”
Ayami Tsuchiya
Head of Laboratorio quattro. She is based in Kyoto and works under the concept of "bringing smiles to the faces of the next generation.” Ayami has held exhibitions at D+E MARKET / FLUFFY AND TENDERLY, A LITTLE PLACE and Stardust in Kyoto, and Linenbird in Tokyo and Osaka. Her works are available at the online store "days".
Instagram: @laboratorio_quattro