Freshly dyed swathes of fabric flap on the clothes line in the back garden of Michino Tsuboi’s West End home. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Freshly dyed swathes of fabric flap on the clothes line in the back garden of Michino Tsuboi’s West End home. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Freshly dyed swathes of fabric flap on the clothes line in the back garden of Michino Tsuboi’s West End home.
When the materials dry Tsuboi, 47, will turn them into her Zudabukuro canvas bags, which she sells on her instagram account @michinos.textile, and at local markets and festivals. She’s currently busy preparing for July’s Winnipeg Folk Festival.
Tsuboi started making bags when, as a young mother, she struggled to find a durable receptacle to carry all the things she needed for her children. All the bags she encountered were soft and shapeless, unsuitable for her needs. Tsuboi wanted something sturdy, something that wasn’t narrow, something she wouldn’t have to worry too much about.
Unable to find anything like that in the shops, she made one herself. The Creators is a new series that examines the aha moment behind ideas, images and inspiration, and the people behind them. “I wanted a bag that was original and unique but also one I didn’t have to worry about, and canvas was perfect to me,” she says.
Originally from Kusatsu, a city in the Shiga Prefecture, Japan, Tsuboi comes fro.
