Link Collective
Kyoko Bowskill, based in Tokyo, crafts unique furoshiki textiles, redefining their use beyond traditional gift-wrapping. Her brand seamlessly blends Japanese craftsmanship with Western appeal, sparking global recognition.
Edition Two Feature (March 2021)
Words by: Kyoko Bowskill
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Photo Credit: ©Martin Holtkamp @martin_holtkamp
I have been making furoshiki, a type of traditional Japanese textile, for about 10 years from Tokyo, Japan. I started this brand with my friend Lucinda Newton-Dunn, who is British and lived in Tokyo for about five years. We started to make some unique products together. We wanted to make something unique mixed with Japanese craftsmanship, but not only for collectors of traditional Japanese things. We thought they should be Westernised, more casual, more modern products. That’s why we started to make furoshiki textiles.
A furoshiki is a square of Japanese cloth. The traditional way to use a furoshiki is just for wrapping gifts. We changed the way of thinking, so that we can also use a furoshiki as a scarf and as a bag and to display on a hanging rod. The printers have been making furoshiki for a long time, more than 50 years, at the same factory. The furoshiki are screen-printed in the old style of manufacture for mass produced products. They can print a long stretch and then cut it. For work that’s done by hand, they can make them very quickly.
