Each handwoven, one of a kind coat is a meditation on moving intuitively, without a set path. A kind of moving and making through deep concentration where the resulting textile comes from the beauty of chance, of leaving the door open to the unknown, of being at home in mystery. Each coat is ‘a remnant of an act’ where the resulting piece is a manifestation of an ancient way of making, where the process of making leads the direction of the piece.

A quote that has inspired the coats and to lean into the wild, unknown nature of life is based on a line from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden:

The material found within each woven coat is a marriage between my longstanding relationship with Japan and a newly formed relationship with an enchanting sheep farm in New Zealand. It is a blending of two places making with their hearts and hands.

Located in the rolling green foothills of South Island, New Zealand, Taranui is a revered, family-operated sheep farm owned by several generations of the Gardner family. Taranui’s unique flock called Haunui – meaning a “place of the winds” – is a fusion of New Zealand Half-bred and Fine Romney stock, bred for generations to ensure the very highest quality. Each fleece is meticulously checked, tracked and graded to ensure the best selection of quality and colour. 

It then journeys to Japan, where the wool meets the thoughtful, considerate hands of yarn spinners in Ichinomiya, a revered small town known for its mastery of craftsmanship, particularly with wool spinning, textile weaving, and pottery. The spinning processes in Ichinomiya still done by hand or on traditional machinery under master spinner Eisaku Noro’s thoughtful sensibility. Mr. Noro explains that:

From this heritage mill the material makes its way to my studio and barn in Austin, Texas, where I work with it intuitively, taking it from thread to warp to a woven textile over several weeks. At their best, each coat is a custodian of ‘slow time’ as one makes their way through the world. Each coat a reminder to carve our paths slowly, to the importance of nourishing our interior worlds, and to listen deeply to what lies within.

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Words and images by Amy Revier