Nippon West is a studio practice in the Hudson Valley dedicated to exploring the beauty and cultural history of Japanese textiles through contemporary garments and objects. 

My relationship with Japan began in 1993, when I first visited the country and encountered an extraordinarily sophisticated visual language that communicates culture, custom, and meaning through subtle pattern, form, and material. Through subsequent visits and continuing study, the Japanese view of art as inseparable from everyday life has continued to resonate deeply with my own creative journey. Japanese artistic traditions celebrate beauty and craftsmanship without rigid distinctions between high and low, or fine and applied, arts. 

In 2016, I decided to make a kimono-style coat out of a WW2 US Army blanket and some vintage kimono fabric, and so I taught myself how to sew. That first coat led to others, and gradually my studio practice grew as my sewing, pattern-making, and construction skills expanded. My creative process remains iterative, and each piece represents an experiment in the possibilities of fabric, construction, and form.

Over time I have assembled a varied collection of Japanese textiles, including formal kimono and humble workwear dating from the Taisho, Showa, and Heisei eras. When I disassemble vintage kimonos, I often think of the women who sewed them by hand decades ago. They would often repurpose old textiles in their households, embodying the concept of mottainai – the idea that nothing of value should go to waste. That sensibility resonates strongly with the values I inherited from my parents, whose lives were shaped by the frugality of the Depression era.

Nippon West garments emerge from this intersection of traditions. I slowly deconstruct, clean, repair, arrange, and reassemble vintage Japanese textiles into new forms that can be worn and lived with today. Each piece is shaped by the character of the original textile, signs of its use over time, and my own hopes for its life going forward.

All work is designed and constructed in my studio in Hillsdale, New York. Each piece is assigned an alphanumeric tag reflecting its place within my evolving body of work. The letter corresponds to an organizing pattern (or concept), and the number designates the work's placement in that series.