Chika Nagamori, a textile designer and hand weaver, creates a beautiful and delicate world of color. Her textile products are created completely by hand. By combining her hand dyed colors into unique fabrics that she weaves herself, she creates original textiles.

Chika obsesses over color and the magical universe created by different color combination and patterns. Chika has a very soft and mild character but we felt her strong passion for color when we met her in Tokyo. 

She dyes thread by herself. She said that she cannot find the dyed threads she likes, so she dyes it herself for each collection she creates.

Chika studied textile design at Tama Art University in Tokyo, specializing in textiles and dyeing. She said that she did not seek a full time job when she graduated, as she felt she would never create her own textiles if she worked for someone else full time. So she choose to become a textile designer and has been making her original textiles and textile products ever since.

Color matters to Chika. Subtle differences between colors are a big deal for her. She personally likes blue and yellow, but her color world is infinitely expanded every time she makes a new product. Her collections mainly consist of one-off items, so she dyes a small amount of thread but a wide range of colors.

Each color combination creates a different look so she is carefully chooses her dyed threads, thinking about their relationship, along with the order of warp and weft to make beautiful patterns. The delicate patterns and color combinations make each textile product into a veritable work of art.

All her items are made from cotton - mainly Egyptian and supima cotton. She chooses each cotton based on its unique characteristics and specific benefits. For example, she uses Egyptian cotton for warp because its luster brings elegance to textiles. High quality supima cotton is used for weft, due to its softness as well as its strength.

Textiles made by hand require time and dedication. She dyes cotton thread, winds each reel by hand, and arranges the warp thread colors by hand before starting the final process of weaving. It requires a few weeks to complete the whole process of making a bag, Chika said. While she enjoys the whole process, she particularly likes dyeing, as well as the moment that the weft is woven. Chika always enjoys the moment of weaving textiles. 

Chika said that she does not have particular images or themes in mind when she makes her textile products. She said it would be good if her bags serve as color and style inspiration for people coordinating their outfit for the day. 

Chika admires designer Yoshihisa Iida who makes beautiful umbrellas. His umbrellas transform a rainy day into a happy day, because of his colors and design. 

Color affects people’s feelings. Her textile products use bright color. The colors she dyes and combines bring joy. Chika’s textiles provides a positive spice to your day. 

View the Chika Nagamori collection