絞 : Shibori

The word Shibori comes from the Japanese verb root “shiboru” meaning, “to wring, squeeze, press”.

Shibori a traditional Japanese resist-dyeing technique that has been around longer than any other fabric dyeing method. It was most popular in the early Edo period when lower class people were forbidden from wearing silk. The pattern is made by binding, stitching, folding, twisting, compressing, dyeing, and then releasing the binding pressure to reveal the pattern. Each method that is used is done with harmony with the type of cloth to create beautiful surface designs. Commonly mistaken for tie-dye in the West, the original Shibori techniques were ancestral, handed down exclusively within Japanese artisan families. There are six major known Shibori techniques: Kanoko, Miura, Kumo, Nui, Arashi and Itajime. Faburiq's accessories are made from fabrics that utilize the Kanoko and Miura techniques.

Kanoko Shibori, the most popular variation of the Shibori technique and the closest to the Western Tie-Dye version, involves tying cloth to achieve the desired pattern. Each individual knot is hand-tied, creating small variations in the shapes, and is carefully released by the artisan one at a time. Most common are circular shapes achieved with this technique. Sometimes the circles are places in an irregular fashion to create an image, or more frequently, the fabric is folded into layers to create a repeating pattern. This is a time-consuming, painstaking process with beautiful, monochromatic results.

Miura is a technique that involves looping and binding. A hook and needle is used to pluck sections of the cloth and a thread is looped around each section twice, the released pattern resembles water ripples. The final pattern depends on how tightly you bind the fabric and where it is bound, making each pattern unique in itself. This is the easiest of all Shibori techniques and most commonly used.

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Wabi-sabi: Embracing the Worn and Asymmetrical

What if, instead of fighting imperfection, you welcomed it in your life?

Believe it or not, this is the foundation of a very old way of thinking. The Japanese concept of wabi-sabi means "impermanent, imperfect and incomplete." It derives from the Buddhist way of looking at the world, which has a foundation in nonattachment, and takes its cues from the natural world and authenticity, from the handmade and the worn.

Popularized in 15th century Japan, it is a reaction to excess and lavishness. As a designer, I think of it as the anti-internet, and a similar aesthetic is undercurrent in all types of design today. Currently, it's a reaction to the sleek perfection of technology, of the cookie-cutter house or car, the bland design of corporate logos and mass-produced retail goods.

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese idea of embracing the imperfect, celebrating the worn, the used or the cracked, both as a decorative and spiritual concept. In essence, it's the acceptance of the toll that life takes on us all. If we can learn to love the things that already exist, for all their chips and cracks, their imperfections, their crooked lines or tactile evidence of being made by someone's hands instead of a machine, from being made of natural materials that vary rather than perfect plastic, we wouldn't need to make new stuff, reducing our consumption, its concurrent energy use and inevitable waste while cutting our budgets. We might also be less stressed, and more attentive to details, which are the keys to mindfulness.

At Faburiq, we design knowing our fabrics have an implied history and evidence of humanity. We have an appreciation of the stories old things have, rather than the blankness that new things shine out into the world. We pride ourselves in giving these traditional fabrics a new life by crafting them into accessories and apparel with yet, another story to tell.

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Give Thanks, Be Thankful and Waste Nothing

Happy Thanksgiving from Faburiq!

Faburiq lives by the values of Mottainai - that the old can be made new and everything can be given life again. Faburiq's pieces are fabrics that have been saved and reused, so you can give them another history and chapter in it's life. Thank you to our customers and for giving us the opportunity to serve you.  Have a very Happy Thanksgiving 2014!

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Studio Visit: STIL Now!

When one thinks of a curated, creative lifestyle encompassing health, well-being and personal style, Betty Riaz embodies all of these.  Through her work as a yoga practitioner, her boutique at Stil Studio, and now teaming up with fine jewelry designer, Ana Katarina Vinkler-Petrovic, to curate Boston's newest pop-up store Stil Now, on Boston’s famed Newbury Street. Scouring the globe for unique, handpicked, sustainable and stylish items, Stil Now, with its eclectic mix of designers, is a blueprint for a balanced, international lifestyle. As dear friends, Betty invited me to share Faburiq’s international elegance with Stil Now, and I am honored to have Stil Now carry Faburiq pocket squares. 

As a huge follower of designers that Stil has previously carried, we're thrilled Stil Now has brought back some of it's old favorites such as Hoss, Nirva, Ottod'Ame and Escentric Molecules. For this holiday season, Stil Now is featuring Balkan designers, notably Ana-Katarina Jewelry, Portmanteau, Amna and Milansenic. A host of designers for men's accessories and home goods such as Beacon Hill Bow Tie Club and Miraggio Pillows are also being featured. The space is just as one would imagine - minimal, serene, foreign but homely, like a living space that has manifested from the streets of Pakistan to the clean cuts and coziness of Copenhagen.

If you are in the Boston area be sure to visit Stil Now on Newbury St this Holiday season, and thank you to Betty, Ana-Katarina and the Stil crew so much for carrying Faburiq!

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Holiday Gifting Solved with Shades of Blue

Pocket Squares are handy and stylish. Great to dress up any pocket - suit pocket, pant pocket, jean pocket, shirt pocket, even a ladies pocket....get one of these cool kasuri cotton blues to add to your stocking stuffers! Also available now at Stil Now on Newbury Street!

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Faburiq is now available at STIL NOW on Newbury Street!

Faburiq's pocket squares are now available at STIL NOW's pop up store this November and December 2014! Serving both Men's and Women's fashion needs, kick start your holiday shopping with some serious style and get a square at 304 Newbury Street in Boston!

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Inspired by Seigaiha 青海波

The new packaging for Faburiq is here! Seigaiha 青海波 literally means "blue wave of the sea". The double circle patterns resembling ocean waves around the label is not only found on fabrics but on packaging and pottery. This pattern has been used as a clothing motif in Japan for more than a thousand years and also used on ancient Chinese maps to illustrate seawater. The pattern originated from Middle Eastern culture and was introduced to Japan through China around the 11th century.

Just as blue ocean waves are the movement and the current of changing tides, such is life itself, always in motion and a journey. For me, the blue color conveys a sense of calmness and tranquility while the waves represents motion. An ideal combination whilst not always easy to accomplish, but is perfect as packaging for something truly special.

Author: Aruña Quiroga

銘仙絣: Meisen-Gasuri

Meisen silk is woven from pre-dyed silk threads (Ikat technique) and is the densest type of Ikat fabric in the world. Meisen is a moderately lightweight silk weave with a hard, smooth touch. The average person on the street in Japan will recognize meisen as what we call ikat. However, meisen may also be a solid color fabric, or woven entirely with undyed, unbleached yarns. So actually, meisen is the weave and kasuri is the dye method. Commencing production around 1868, Meisen silk became hugely popular in the 1920s/30s amongst fashionable Japanese women for everyday wear. Heavily influenced by European painters and art deco style, Meisen silk exhibits striking, bold and geometric prints that reflect the heyday of its production. Meisen ceased major production in the 1960s. 

To make meisen fabric, threads are first loosely woven and then dyed using stencils. The warp or the weft threads may be discarded at this point and new ones woven in to create the initial patterns. An alternative method is to stretch the threads as if they were woven, and then tightly bind the design areas before immersing the fabric in dye. The bound areas resist the dye, and when woven, this results in a design with rough edges because the threads are not evenly aligned. After the fabric is woven, additional hand painting, dying or embroidery is completed before assembling the kimono.

Today, Meisen is woven in the general region of Chichibu and Isezaki using yarns called tama-ito (a thick, seasonal raw silk) and noshi-ito (silk thrums) to weave a very strong, thick cloth used in every-day clothes. Centers of production are to be found in Kyoto, Isezaki, Chichibu, Ashikaga, Kiryuu, and Hachiouji. Although production of fabrics with Meisen style weaving has dwindled, what is left is a testament to the continuing dedication to craft and tradition alongside the rise of machine manufacturing.

Author: Aruña Quiroga

絣: Kasuri

The word “kasuri” originated from the Malay/Indonesian language meaning “bind” or “tie.” Kasuri textile production began in the Ryukyu Kingdom (now Okinawa). The Ryukyu Kingdom began producing bashofu kasuri textiles in the 1300s for export to China, Korea, Southeast Asia and Japan. Now, the representative types of kasuri made in Japan are in Hingo-kasuri in Hiroshima, Iyo-kasuri in Ehime, and Kurume-kasuri in Fukuoka.

The distinctive feature of kasuri textiles is a technique that twines and dyes vertical threads and horizontal ones together to create patterns, designs or images in the material. Kasuri patterns have distinctive fuzzy edges and look as if they were splashed onto the fabric. Because the individual threads are dyed versus printed on one side of the fabric, the design which is woven into the fabric allows it to appear on both sides of the fabric.

All of Faburiq's cotton pocket squares are made from Kasuri textiles.

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Faburiq is Obsessed with Fabrics!

               Everything comes back to Fabrics

What inspired the birth of Faburiq? It was the fabrics and the textiles that I found over time through my travels. But Japanese textiles made a lasting impression on me. The craftspeople that made these textiles have dedicated their lives to perfecting the art of textile weaving using the same looms and techniques for generations. These methods are found nowhere else in the world. But, interest, demand and appreciation for these types of fabrics are fading in Japan and within our generation.

Faburiq lives by the values of Mottainai - that the old can be made new and everything can be given life again. Mottainai is an old Buddhist word, which has ties with the Shinto idea that "objects have souls within them".  Mottainai is a tradition very much alive in the Japanese "cultural DNA" today, which has evolved into an international concept.

Fabrics aren't just the materials we use; it is what inspires us to create. Faburiq only works with select collectors of antique and vintage fabrics in Japan, who share a passion for textiles that are made with integrity and purpose. From the fabric to the ribbon that hems your precious square, to the paper that wraps your package, everything is made with the utmost care and nothing is wasted. Every bit of fabric is saved, crafted and given a chance to be part of your life.

On my next blog post, you'll learn more about the types of Japanese fabrics and the techniques involved in their making. Stay tuned!

Author: Aruña Quiroga

         Indigo Shibori at a Japanese textile workshop

                                    Sashiko Stitching

The Origins of the Kimono

The kimono is a simple garment with a complex history that has been shaped by the evolution of weaving, dyeing, and embroidery techniques as well as cultural changes in Japan. The kimono's form was first introduced from China as an undergarment. Its use as a normal form of dress for men and women dates back from the Muromachi period (1392–1568). Meaning 'the thing worn', the term kimono was first adopted in the mid-19th century. Prior to that, the garment was known as a kosode, which means 'small sleeve', a reference to the opening at the wrist. Originally worn by commoners, or as an undergarment by the aristocracy, from the 16th century the kosode, or kimono, had become the principal item of dress for all classes and both sexes. It is still today, an enduring symbol of traditional Japanese culture. In kimono dress, it is the pattern on the surface, rather than the cut of the garment, that holds significance. Indications of social status, personal identity and cultural sensitivity are expressed through color and decoration.

                                                           Kosode circa 1610

The Edo period (1615–1868) was one of unprecedented political stability, economic growth, and urban expansion in Japan. Women's kimonos became very decorative from the middle of the Edo period in spite of bans on luxurious living imposed by the Tokugawa shogunate, the rulers of Japan at the time. The primary consumers of sumptuous kimono were the samurai, the ruling military class. Yet it was the merchant and artisan classes, or chōnin, who benefited most from the peace and prosperity of the period. However, the rigid hierarchy of Tokugawa Japan meant that they could not use their wealth to improve their social status. Instead they had to find different outlets for their money, such as buying beautiful clothes. It was this new market that stimulated the great flowering of the textile arts in the Edo period, what would be considered today as the “fashion industry”. The kimono developed into a highly expressive means of personal display, an important indicator of the rising affluence and aesthetic sensibility of the chōnin. During this period, woodblock-printed pattern books, called hinagatabon, played a crucial role in transmitting the most fashionable designs, just as fashion magazines and catalogues do today.

The modernization of the kimono happened during the Meiji period (1868–1912). In an attempt to place Japan on equal footing with Europe and America, Japanese officials began wearing Western-style clothing. In the late 1880s, even Empress Shōken promoted Western gowns to encourage women to adopt modern modes of dress. The kimono gradually became identified as Japan’s national dress, and at the same time became a highly sought-after fashion item in Europe and the United States, coinciding with the Japonisme craze that inspired many Western artists and designers, notably Vincent van Gogh and other Impressionists. 

The Taishō period (1912–1926) saw great urban growth, particularly in Tokyo. The prosperity and optimism of the period is evident in the colorful and cheerful textile designs, such as a kimono ensemble with brilliant explosions of chrysanthemum blossoms. Although Western-style clothes gained popularity, the kimono continued to be every-day wear. The motifs were dramatically enlarged and new designs appeared, sometimes inspired by Western-style painting. In creating such boldly patterned kimonos, the designers benefited from new types of silk and innovative patterning techniques and the technological advances made during the late 19th century. The kimono became relatively inexpensive and these highly fashionable garments were made available to more people than ever before. These vibrant kimono styles remained popular until the 1950s.

                                                          A Modern Day Geisha

During the Shōwa period (1926–1989), kimono design continued to evolve in response to the artistic and political upheaval at the international level. There were even war propaganda kimonos with unique designs reflecting contemporary politics of the 1930s and 1940s. Over time, kimono makers evolved from nameless artisans to designated Living National Treasures, and the kimono gradually transformed from an item of every-day clothing to an exclusively ceremonial garment.

Kimonos are also known to be rather expensive. If this limits the wearing of them, it also proclaims their high cultural value. Indeed, the garment may be worn much less, but its symbolic importance has grown. As Japan has come to define itself within the western world since the late 19th century, the kimono has come to mark a boundary with the foreign, to stand for the essence that is Japanese. This is reflected in the fact that most contemporary textile designers working with traditional techniques still use the kimono as the primary format for their artistic expression.

              Audrey Hepburn in a Kimono circa 1960

The 21st century, however, has witnessed something of a kimono renaissance. Many eminent fashion designers, both in Japan and the West, creating innovative works inspired by the age-old indigenous garment. Elegant kimono in beautiful modern fabrics can be seen increasingly on the streets of Japan, while second-hand kimono are becoming popular with the young, who often re-style them or combine them with other items of dress. After the Second World War, kimono were often viewed as a product of Japan's feudal past or a symbol of woman's oppression, but today with Japan experiencing a “kimono boom”, they are just another choice in a woman's - and even occasionally a man's - wardrobe. They are an item of fashion, just as they were in their Edo heyday.

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Sources: The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom; http://www.vam.ac.uk/, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States; http://www.metmuseum.org/

Stockholm's Got Pocket Square Fever!

Every year, my family and I travel to different parts of the world in search of culture. Here are images from my recent trip to Stockholm and boy oh boy, the Swedish love pocket squares! Gentlemen everywhere were seen adorning them, day and night, and the men's shops were never lack of selection and designs. Check out these playful and delightful ways the Swedes display this trendy accessory!

Pocket squares in a trophy.

All the gentleman's essentials.

On Sale doesn't mean shabby.

Love the versatility of this piece - four pocket squares in one.

LOVE how the pocket square is also used to accent a coat.

Elegantly dressed gentleman whom we had the pleasure of sharing a table with at the Östermalms Saluhall (local Food Market).

Just simply red.

Beautiful fall colors!

Nice BOW touches.

And trousers as well!

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Fall and Winter 2014 Sneak Peek...

The Crane or Tsuru often appearing in Japanese textiles is a symbol of good fortune and longevity due to it's fabled life span of a thousand years. 

The Bamboo symbolizes the strength of one's character. The Bamboo bends and flexes but never breaks. It keeps it's delicate structure during storms and strong winds. Like the bamboo, one must never break or lose your sense of self no matter how the world treats you.

In Japan, white is the color of angels and gods. It is the color of cleanliness and represents reverence, purity, simplicity, humility, youth, winter and snow.

Author: Aruña Quiroga

Japanese Inspired

Having always been inspired by Japanese products and in the manner they are produced, this is one item that is a necessity in every person's life - towels. Simple as this item might be, and how easily one can overlook it’s purpose and importance, this is one of my favourite items that I get to use daily. These towels are made by a company established in 1934, Kontex, in Imabari City in the Shikoku region of Japan.

The design and production of these towels are unlike any other I’ve encountered. Using carefully selected cotton variety and fibers from different regions throughout the world and traditional weaving machines that gives weight to texture and softness over efficiency, a simple item has turned into a work of art. The towels are then finished off by being washed in the abundant wellsprings of underground water from the melted snows of Mount Ishizuchi to thoroughly remove the starch and wax without additional impurities becoming attached to the thread.

Like the Kimono, which originated as early as the 5th century AD, the evolution of the fabric itself is rich in history and the fabrics are still frequently hand-made today. The bolt of fabric that a Kimono is made from is an artistic creation touched by the hands of a designer, stitcher, weaver and dyer. Rarely does modern machinery play a significant role in the production of a Kimono fabric. The technical traditions of these artisans have enabled many Kimono fabrics to be recycled due to the quality of their skill. Damaged kimonos can be disassembled and resewn to hide the soiled areas. Historically, skilled craftsmen laboriously picked the silk thread from old kimonos and rewove it into a new textile using a recycling weaving method called saki-ori.

These are the inspirations behind Faburiq. Meticulous craftsmanship, beautifully preserved kimono fabrics reborn into the modern men’s Pocket Square.

Author: Aruña Quiroga

When was the Pocket Square born?

The history of the pocket square or handkerchief as it was originally known as, can be traced back to the bone needle weaving technique, invented in the 4th Millennium BC. Although it is not known what they were originally used for, it is known that these cloths were dyed, indicating that they were used for decorative purposes.

In 2000 BC, wealthy Egyptians carried handkerchief that were often bleached white. These are assumed to be the first true handkerchiefs. Statues of Keti and Senet carrying their handkerchiefs can be found in The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The Ancient Greeks would spray perfume on their handkerchiefs to hold on to their favourite scents as early as 500 BC. The Romans used handkerchiefs at the start of their Gladiator Games, whereby the Emperor would begin the games by dropping his handkerchief to signal the start. The Emperor would give the spectators the handkerchiefs as a gift, which the crowds would then use to cheer the gladiators.

          Courtier with handkerchief

The middle ages saw the use of handkerchiefs in many ways. In the 9th century, members of the Catholic Church would wear a white handkerchief on their left arm to represent their devotion to Church and God. The Egyptians used it as form of distinguishing between wealthy and poor in the 10th century. From the 15th century, ladies would give a handkerchief to a lord, as these were seen as tokens of affection. Knights were also known to wear handkerchiefs into battle to show a lady’s affection. 

Legend has it that King Richard II, ruler of England from 1377 to 1399, is credited as the first person to wear the handkerchief as a fashion accessory. He was the first to incorporate it into his wardrobe, rather than for hygienic purposes or tokens of affection. During his reign, heavy embroidery using black or red silk, complete with an Assisi or Holbein stitch, and occasional gold or silver edging was most common.

The popularity of handkerchiefs can also be seen in Shakespeare’s Othello where the handkerchief is a vital piece in the plot. The shape was then defined by the Renaissance period which cut the cloth to squares. Up until King Louis XVI of France's reign in the late 1700s, handkerchiefs were made in all shapes and sizes. Disturbed by not having a standard proportion of handkerchiefs, King Louis's wife, Marie Antoinette, demanded a decree that all such cloths be measured 16" by 16", thus marrying the terms "pocket" and "square". The "Pocket Square" was officially born.

                  White cotton pocket square, circa 1901

By the 19th century, when the two piece suit came into fashion, many gentlemen started to put the pocket square into the breast pocket and it was quickly becoming a staple fashion accessory in the Industrial man's wardrobe. Since it was not becoming to put a dirty or used handkerchief into the breast pocket of the jacket, gentlemen in this period would carry two handkerchiefs, one in the pants pocket and the other to act as a pocket square. The pocket square was to compliment a man’s shirt or tie, but never directly match – this rule still holds today.

Today pocket squares have various folding techniques and styles. Gentlemen wear pocket squares to give their outfit a distinguishing touch, a sublet nod of tradition or a bold shout of personal expression. The various folding styles of the fabric gives a gentlemen even more opportunity to show his personality through his pocket square. Not surprisingly, pocket squares are said to be the easiest accessory to come by that allows a man to elevate his appearance, with just one single piece of fabric.

Author: Aruña Quiroga

New Patterns