“Cultural Sustainability” – while it sounds clean (content) words, it requires a lot of labor & attention to maintain. Some don’t want to talk about “money” when it comes to our creation, but it is an inevitable topic. Money isn’t the goal for us, yet money is an important vehicle to take us to the Goal. Our goal is to have a case of “Sashiko Artisan” who may make their end meet by just doing Sashiko – which I haven’t met for the last 10~20 years.
☆
For that, most of the Sashiko items we share here and on @UpcycleStitches are for sale. I can put the price-tag on them. For the original purpose of Sashiko, “someone using it” is much better than “being stored” in a closet. However, I would like to respect the time we put into the process – and it is the start line of “Cultural Sustainability in Sashiko”, I believe.
☆
100+ (and often more) hours of stitching. How do we price it? Crafting is an industry where a skilled crafter wouldn’t even make up to the minimum wage. It is unfortunate, but that’s how “globalization” changed our value-mind. I stop sharing the pricing in public because some say “wow, so expensive” without even acknowledging the stories. It is expensive, and I cannot afford it myself (although I can make it). However, they do not have to “say it out loud” to minimize the value of craftsmanship. Someone’s opinion can hurt others.
☆
I am so privileged to meet Sashiko Fans who would respect these “Wearable Art”. We can make a few jackets per year, and we don’t know how many of these we can make in our lives. To be honest, I do not want to price it, yet I need to let it go for the true value of “Sashiko”. As we cannot make many of these, and not many can afford it, I “teach” how to make them by ourselves. Please be mindful. Please don’t “consume” our culture. We are at the edge of “Culture” being lost or preserved.
☆
–
–
–
☆
「残りの人生で、あと何着作れるか…」。昔は憂いて諦めていた終わりが、今では希望に変わってきています。それもこれも世界各地で刺し子を楽しんで下さっている方と繋がっていられるからです。母と子の二人で完結で良かったはずなのですが、希望が膨らみ、二人ではどうしようもならない所まで来ました。多くの方のお力を頂戴して、「長年刺し子と過ごしてきたからこその変化」を形にできればと思っています。明日で何かが終わっても良いように。終わりが新しい始まりになるように。
☆
#Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #刺し子 #日本人の刺し子
via IFTTT