First published on Issue 7 in 2015.
Text by Aki Miyashita / Photos by Masahiro Kohda
Niime Tamaki creates light-weight shawls and clothes with soft fabrics full of colors. They easily make anyone look fashionable. Once you start wearing her clothes, you can’t ever let go - that was my feeling after buying the first shawl several years ago.
The designer Niime Tamaki moved to Nishiwaki City in Hyogo Prefecture about 7 years ago, a place known for the Banshu weaving industry. She creates her textiles and garments using a vintage weaving machine (unique to her region) that she has customized for her designs.
“I used to make shirts, and wanted to come up with a unique textile just for my design, but it was difficult for such a small scale producer as myself. The only factory that listened to me, and answered my request was a weaving factory in Nishiwaki. Together we created a new fabric and continued to improve it, and in the end, we came up with something that is so soft that you can no longer sew a shirt with it. My instinct told me that it will make an amazing shawl,” she explains.
Shawls can be used by people of all generations, regardless of the fashion style - be it modern chic or casual. That is exactly what Niime tries to achieve with her designs. The weaving factory owner encouraged her to take on the production of her work, because he wanted to retire before long. Niime purchased the machines and started to produce her own textiles, then clothes, and the brand grew from there. The small, family-owned company now manages a retail channel.
“I pick colors almost every day. The warp colors are decided first, then I pick about 30 colors of weft for four machines - in total about 80 colors per day. This cannot be done if you think too much, so I rely on my instinct. If I were making 100 shawls in the same color combination, I would give it much more thought, but I only make one or two in the same colors, which gives me a great amount of freedom.”
She recently started to make a collection of garments using a Shima-Seiki knitting machine, as well as a series of hand-weaving mats called “socosiki.” She is also into growing her own cotton plants.
“The knitting machine is the type commonly used for massproduction, but what we are trying to do is small lot production of mass variations. We take a lot of time to create a unique, high quality item using the machine, and it has been a challenge. As for growing cotton, we do it as organically as possible, as naturally as possible. If you become serious about your products, raw materials become more and more important to you. We became more conscious about what we eat as well. The world is opaque, but we want to stay as transparent and clean as possible. That is why we put our factory and shop together so that people can see how we make our textiles.
Her simple philosophy - making things that she wants to wear on her own - -signifies her unique and attractive style.
tamaki niime
334 Ueno, Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
- We feel there is something in common between her spirit and ours, and very much look forward to her next moves.