In person / Workshop / Dyeing
In this workshop, participants will experience indigo dyeing with Kyō-ai, prepared by Matsuzaki in Japan and further fermented at Loop of the Loom. Each person can choose to dye either a tenugui scarf or a high-quality bandana while learning the ancient hand-drawn resist-dyeing technique using 100% organic beeswax, reimagined in a modern design. Through this process, participants will draw patterns freely with beeswax and uncover the luminous, transparent beauty that is unique to Kyō-ai.
Following the hands-on workshop, Matsuzaki will give you a lecture while your dye projects are drying. Join us for this rare opportunity to learn directly from an artisan of Kyoto indigo and to discover the living color that continues to inspire across generations.
Riku Matsuzaki is an indigo artist and craftsman who revived “Kyo-ai,” a lost Kyoto indigo dye tradition that had vanished for over 100 years. At age 22, he was struck by the term “Japan Blue” while in New York and chose to pursue dyeing after returning to Japan. He apprenticed under Yukio Yoshioka, the fifth-generation master of a 200-year-old Kyoto dye workshop. After Yoshioka’s passing, Matsuzaki began cultivating indigo on a 350 sqft plot of land using traditional, chemical-free methods. He practices a sustainable cycle where even waste dye is returned to the soil. In 2024, he was named one of Forbes JAPAN’s 30 Culturepreneurs and collaborated with Valextra, a high-end Italian leather brand.