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"Stampwork," a three-dimensional embroidery technique that was popular in 17th-century England, and "Japanese embroidery," a traditional Japanese technique. By merging these two embroidery cultures, embroidery artist Momoka Ienaga brings to life the beauty found in familiar motifs, expressing them in three-dimensional forms. Born into a family that runs an industrial dyeing business, she became captivated by the world of handicrafts. What kind of stories from daily life does she weave with her needle and thread? We visited Ienaga Printworks in Kyoto to hear her story.
PROFILE
Momoka Ienaga
Born in 1998 in Kyoto Prefecture
2022: Graduated from Kanazawa College of Art, Department of Crafts; 2024: Completed the Textile Arts Course at the Graduate School of Fine Arts & Crafts, Kanazawa College of Art
2023: Selected for the "2023 Itami International Craft Exhibition - Jewellery -"
2024: Received the MUFG Special Award in "Forbes JAPAN 30 UNDER 30 JAPAN 2024"
An Irresistible, Uncontrollable Allure
Was craftsmanship always a part of your daily life growing up?
My family runs a dyeing factory in Kyoto. It started as my great-grandfather's Yuzen textile dyeing factory and is now managed by my father, who mainly prints on clothing using auto screen printers and inkjet printers. It was also my grandparents’ home, so I was always around fabrics as industrial products from a young age. The dyes for prints are blended and mixed with a computer-controlled automatic mixer, but final adjustments are always made by hand to suit the climate and humidity. Seeing these dyeing processes up close, I learned that even machine-produced fabrics are always completed by the hands of skilled artisans.
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