Last month we opened a new shop on the groundfloor of our Tokyo office in Kiyosumi , Koto-ku.It is called Babaghuri and we sell useful things for the home ( including clothes ) there.Everything in this shop is made from natural materials using natural dyes and most things are made by hand. From time to time we shall have special exhibitions. Please check this homepage for news about them......... JL
These highly twisted cotton knits are perfect for travelling and very nice to wear in hot weather. They are in the shops now........The long skirt can double as a short sundress. RH
This bedcover is the most complicated piece of fabric ever made for us by the laotian workshop we collaborate with. Seven vegetable dye coulours are used to make the pattern which is not repeatd anywhere on this cloth. We are using three shades of indigo, one is mixed with mangobark, and another with the fermented fruit of thai ebony. The yellow is made from the heartwood of cockspur thorn. The two shades of beige are dyed with the wood of oroxylum indicum. The two reds are dyed with shellac and shellac mixed with sappanwood. This fabric is handwoven from handspun yarn on a narrow -width loom. The strips are then joined together by hand. Only eight pieces were made and when we asked the weavers for more they refused because they thought they were too difficult to make.
There are many more items like aprons & hand towels in this collection. These are my favourites. :
All are sold only at Jurgen Lehl shops that carry the Babaghuri line. Here are also some photographs taken on a trip to the workshop in Laos : Preparing the cotton for spinning
Yuriko Takagi is my favourite customer because she always suprises me by the very personal way she chooses and coordinates whatever we make. Last week she came to visit the Babaghuri shop to do her shopping. This is the result:JL