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Rob learnt Japanese textiles techniques at West Dean college and in Japan under the tutelage of internationally acclaimed indigo dyer and Japanese Textiles guru, Bryan Whitehead. Rob’s works span many Japanese textiles crafts including Shibori resist dyeing, Katagami stencilling, Sashiko and Kogin embroidery and Boro mending. He works mainly with indigo and natural plant dyes.
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- Info Romor Designs Shibori cushions A delightful dark blue indigo dyed shibori cushion looks great against a neutral or grey palette. Two patterns are currently available, Arashi (meaning “storm” in Japanese), a series of intersecting lines; and a patchwork shibori cushion made from favourite pieces left over from making my Shibori quilt during lockdown in January 2021
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Romor Designs Indigo shibori lampshades collection
These indigo blue and white marbled effect Shibori lampshades are part of the Bomaki collection from Romor Designs.
They are handmade using vintage French linen sourced at brocante fairs in France that has been carefully compressed and then dipped multiple times with natural indigo dye to achieve a rich dark blue.
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Romor Designs indigo dyed teatowels
Each indigo dyed shibori tea towel is made from 100% cotton. They have been kikko folded and bound using three separate bindings and then dyed with indigo dye (a minimum of three dips). They are great for drying your dishes but some people prefer them for display!
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Romor Designs indigo Shibori and Katagami stencilled lavender eye pillows
I only use the best organic French lavender from Provence in my shibori lavender eye pillows. Each lavender eye pillow contains organic French lavender and basmati rice, which I’ve found makes for the right weight to lie comfortably across the eyes.
They come in various Shibori and Katagami stencilled designs and are dyed in Japanese indigo at my studio in Hackney. £25 ea
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Romor Designs Mokume bands shibori indigo dyed cotton scarf
This scarf is one of my favourites to make but is truly a labour of love.
It has 10 bands of stitch at each end, starting with a short band across a corner and getting longer as I move up the scarf.
Each band is comprised of three rows of stitch and the stitches are tiny and carefully placed to create a break in the dye from one row to the next.
The stitching takes about 6 hours in total and then all the dyeing takes another 4 hours.
MADE TO ORDER
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Romor Designs indigo dyed shibori beach bags
These versatile shoulder bags are perfect for the beach or shopping. There are four designs – Bai “seashell”, Kumo “Spiderweb”, Ne Maki “Beads” and Bomaki “marbling. Each has a wooden toggle closure and a handy zip up pocket in side to store your phone or change. Because they are crossbody they are great for your security too. £32 ea
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Romor Design vintage kimono silk scarves
Made from deconstructed silk kimono these shibori and patterned kimono silk scarves make an elegant gift for a loved one. Several have kanoko bound shibori dots, a very time-consuming practice requiring each tiny pattern to be secured by a special knot before dyeing. From £70. Many are loops that can be worn as a single or double loop
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Romor Designs original Kogin artwork - Framed in an indigo wood, £600
This framed artwork is comprised of 144 hand stitched Kogin diamonds and took over 80 hours to sew.
There are two motifs, concentric diamonds stitched in a dark blue thread dividing multi-coloured diamonds in diamonds.
The frame is an indigo blue stained wood.
The framed image was taken at Craft Central in October 2020 at the virtual Japanese Textiles and Crafts Festival, part of the Japanese Season of Culture program.
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Romor Designs vintage Boro scarves
Boro, or more accurately ‘Boro boro’ means ‘rags and tatters’ in Japanese. These scarves have been assembled from deconstructed Boro mended kimono and embellished/mended with original Kasuri (Japanese IKAT), Katagami stencilled and checked fabrics to make one-off pieces. From £105
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Romor Designs Guntai ring apron, dyed with Japanese indigo
Guntai is an ancient Japanese shibori technique that involves stitching and binding to create side to side bound patterns.
The technique was used in Japan to decorate samurai warlords’ clothing and it often very structured in its form.
I’ve taken the technique and made it my own by applying it in a ring form. The process creates binding patterns that rotate around the ring like a Christmas wreath.
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Romor Designs Shibori silk scarves
Itajime usually involves folding and clamping to create kaleidoscopic patterns but I prefer to inject the silk dyes directly into the silk, which gives a wonderful colour distribution.
The process requires a type of Shibori folding called “Kikko”, with the silk being pressed into equilateral triangles.
The resulting parcels are then steamed to fix the colour.
I love making make these as you never really know exactly how the pattern will look until you open the steamed parcels!
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Shibori napkins
These napkins have been dyed with Japanese indigo at my studio in Hackney in the Bomaki marbling style.
The Bomaki shibori technique creates a marbling effect across each napkin
It is created by carefully creasing and crumpling each damp napkin and constraining it tightly whilst dyeing.
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Indigo dyed shibori scarves
Hand stitched, bound and wrapped, these shibori scarves all have different patterns. Dyed in indigo to a rich, dark blue, requiring many dips and many hours at the indigo vat and rinsing! From £50
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Indigo dyed shibori drawstring bags/backpacks
Everyone needs a handy little bag when they are out and about and these are perfect to hold a few essentials as a backpack. Also great to tidy away some precious things in your suitcase when travelling, £25 ea
