About Me

How does one go from a ten year old girl with a penpal in Shikoku to a kimono historian, researcher and author? I'm still trying to figure it out! But it has been an amazing journey that is far from over!

I have been involved with Japanese culture in one way or another since that day long ago that I received in class the name of the girl who would be my penpal.  (They actually spelled her name wrong but that's another story.)

My adventures in kimono began fourteen years ago when I bought my first yukata at Nisei Week in Los Angeles. I then had the fortune of stumbling upon an amazing instructor and group of supportive caring women in the San Diego Kimono Club.  

The more I learned the more in love I fell with all the details, intricacies, and history of the kimono. This simple robe is anything but simple. A lifetime does not feel long enough to learn all there is.

I have demonstrated the art of dressing kimono to  hundreds of people since then. My videos across my social media platforms have thousands of views. I have published my first book on Kimono Patterns and am working on my second. Nothing makes me happier than to see the eyes of someone excited about kimono light up as they hear something new or see themselves dressed in one for the first time.

I know exactly how they feel.