I remember when I fell in love with fabric. I was six years old, and my grandmother brought me to a little fabric shop in Japan. The scent and the colors completely filled my senses. My grandmother brought me to a section that had colorful cottons and had me choose what I liked so she could make a yukata, a summer kimono, for me. My fingers came across a seersucker fabric, with its bumps and puckers that were so tactile and pleasing. The design itself had little Japanese Mari balls on it. My grandmother sewed the yukata by hand, as most kimonos were. I wore it every chance I had, though sadly, I haven't found any photos of me wearing it. I'm not sure where the kimono itself is; it may have been passed down to one of my younger cousins. I do have a photo of myself in a more formal kimono, though where the kimono itself is, I don't know. I do still have the accessories. 
While we were living in Japan, my mom took classes on Japanese Doll Making. She would give me scraps of fabric that she no longer needed, and I would hand sew simple little dresses for my dolls. Mom made a lot of Japanese dolls, and often gave them to family and friends as gifts. Whenever the class was held at our house, I remember spending what seemed like hours picking up pins afterwards. I always loved when Mom went to someone else's house for class because I got to tag along, and not have to pick up pins after. I had the honor of carrying whatever Mom was working on, all the way home.
I didn't seriously learn to sew until 8th grade Home Economics class. The machine intimidated me, though not for long. I made a swimsuit wrap followed by a bikini. My mom soon bought me a sewing machine, and I began making my own clothes. My first job at 16 was at the local department store's fabric department. It was a match made in heaven.
When my older daughter was young, I would sew something special for her each year. When she woke up on the morning of her birthday, the new dress would be hanging on her doorknob. I saved the extra fabric from these gifts, 1- because I was a pack rat, 2- I figured it might come in handy someday, and 3- it was fabric! Somewhere along the way, she lost interest in the pretty dresses and mom-made things. When her dad and I divorced, I brought all my fabric and scraps with me. For Mariko's 25th birthday, I made use of those saved scraps. I bought ink jet fabric and printed photos of her wearing some of those special dresses, as well as photos of some of the fancy cakes I used to make for her birthdays. I planned out a queen sized quilt, using the photo fabric and dress fabrics. It would have been ready to give it to her on her birthday, except I decided to hand quilt the whole thing, which took another 18 months. It was well worth the wait to see her pour over it, looking at the photos and having them surrounded by the fabric those dresses were made from.
There's just something so satisfying to my soul to mix sewing with handiwork, like quilts, or the costumes my younger daughter had me make when she was in musicals at school. And gifts for my granddaughters. Last year, I made a quilt for my son-in-law's dad, who is ill. His dad takes a lot of naps, so it seemed the perfect gift. To make it even more unique, it was made with vintage kimono fabric.
I suppose it's no surprise that I did start my own little business, taking vintage kimonos and deconstructing them to create something new with the fabric. I started by making wallets, but this year I'm switching to quilted wall hangings and mini kimonos for home decor. Things often come full circle in life, as it did when I decided to name my business Koyama Designs, after my grandmother Tsune Koyama. 
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