"My basic work is to make the design first. Then make the pattern...get the materials, like leathers and fabrics. I always go to the fashion district and purchase fabrics and hardware, then start sowing.
Or sometimes I completely change it."
From humble beginnings in Yokohama to exclusive NoHo boutiques comes down-to-earth Yumiko Maki and her brand of hand-made leather and cotton bags. Young Yumiko first started her foray into purses and pouches after meeting a friend of hers in Pittsburgh, PA who owned her own clothing line.
"My friend and I tried to make clothes...but I didn't want to make clothing. I just wanted to play around, and I decided to make a tiny clutch bag, like a tote bag. It was so fun! The next day, I purchased a sowing machine. Then I started making handbags." she states. After this, when people started asking her about the fabulous selections she carried and from where she purchased them, it was all a natural progression.
But the desire behind Yumiko Maki's pursuits is well-rooted in her childhood. Looking at her grandfather, who owned a custom tuxedo company in her native Japan, she began to have an interest in clothing, fabrics and design. Although, her actual formal schooling was in graphic design (both at Sensoku University in Kanagawa and Chatham College in Pennsylvania). Indeed, when I first stumbled upon Yumiko in person, she was awkwardly perched up on a three-legged stool, scribbling on a line-less sketchpad. "A new design idea," she had said, her infectious laugh already charming me to giving her a smile of my own. I peek over to the pad while she's not looking. A leather satchel with intricate buckles. Somewhere along the line, she wanted to use leathers as well, but with no real skill with the often-difficult and expensive fabric, it seemed she would be limited in her resources. But the insurmountable Maki taught herself how to construct beautiful pieces in a handful of months to make an entire leather collection-by hand.
Now, sliding her bright yellow Converse toe-first into the loft's cement floor, I ask her about where she gets the inspiration to make bags like the Natsumi (her favorite). She pulls her influences from artwork, architecture, and everyday things. Maki's work is all about the Natural. "I really like cotton. I don't like synthetics or other materials. I always choose cotton or denim."
Recently, Yumiko Maki has introduced bags made with organic cotton. "I want to help the Earth," the young designer passionately confides. She acknowledges that there is an added expense to using the eco-friendly material. But in markets such as New York City and Tokyo, and with Yumiko's creative-yet-classic, earthy approach to stitching and detail, it is sure to appeal to hippies, housewives and Harajuku Girls alike.
|
