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TEMARI’s 14th Annual BOLTS of Fabric & Fun Sale

  • Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii (JCCH) 2454 South Beretania Street Honolulu, HI, 96826 United States (map)

Manoa Grand Ballroom, 5th Floor of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii (Map it)

8:00 am – 9:00 am     Open to TEMARI members only
9:00 am – 1:00 pm      Open to the general public

Our annual fabric fair features all things textiles with unique treasures from local artists and more - for the novice crafter or serious textile addict!  Join us for fun, fabrics, remnants and notions. Enjoy ono Marian’s Catering kaukau throughout the fair. JCCH Gift Shop also will be open. With $10 purchase, your parking will be free.

  • Vintage textile treasures

  • Bottles of buttons

  • Boxes of sewing notions

  • Bundles of remnants

  • Hanks of yarns

  • Mounds of kimono, obi, haori & saki-ori

  • Piles of boro, Japanese indigo “rags”

  • Rolls of yukata cotton

  • Tied-up Fat Quarters

  • Trays of beads, tribal jewelry & talismans


Textile Talk Stories

9:30am - “Boro: Not a Fad,” Hiromi Beck, Indigo Market

Boro is more than just a word for “rags”. Hiromi will share a brief history of how Japanese farmers recycled torn indigo dyed pieces into more years of reusable household goods. If we understand the roots of boro, we will appreciate even more Alabama’s Gee’s Bend cotton quilts and those made by Kantha women in Bangladesh from old silk sari and rag trade scraps.

10:15am - “Sashiko: Yesterday and Today,” Pauline Kunimune, with Carol Dee Nishimura

Pauline Kunimune, age 86, of the original Kuni Dry Goods on University Avenue, shares her sashiko experiences. In the Honshu winters, farming women patched and re-patched indigo dyed garments, bedding and even diapers with straight lines of white threads--sashiko “little stabs”. As cotton threads became available to all classes, sashiko evolved into more decorative curved botanical and nature forms. Carol Dee, a veteran cross-stitcher, has recently become a Pauline student and developed a very simple method of transferring printed sashiko patterns to dark blue fabrics. It uses white netting!

11:00am - “Indige,” Ron Irwin

Working with weavers and dyers in Southeast Asia for the past 35 years, Ron has nurtured and supported villages, improving their working conditions and sustaining their crafts. He says, “I love the environment of the new big studios, watching the yarn spun, dyed and setting the looms.” His Indige shop on Waialae Avenue glows with these pin-tucked woven beauties, men’s batik aloha shirts and tactile baskets. Hear his stories and take home a truly hand-crafted piece from his pop-up space in Bolts.

11:45am - “Saki-Ori: Weavings from Rags,” Ann Kedyl, Mottainai Hawaii

Ann weaves fabric from threads, shreds, scraps and oddments in her Koko Head studio, next to Pitacus and Montsuki, above Calico Cat fabrics. This universal method of the ultimate from rags to somethings, is very doable. You’ll see. She will also show historical pieces made by those inventive, strong farming women.In the Patio

In The Patio | Our non-profit partners

Hui O Laulima (HOL)

Dedicated to perpetuating Okinawan culture, HOL celebrated its Golden 50th year in 2018. They display indigenous crafts and award grants to support teachers and students of Ryukyu art forms. This year HOL will again share their creative strength by demonstrating how to weave nuno zori slippers from narrow cloth strips and offering their cookbooks of Uchinanchu cookery, along with classic Okinawan sauces made from those historic recipes.

Okinawa Hands-On (OHO)

OHO aims to preserve the Ryukyu language and culture, provide learning opportunities for youth and to assist the elderly. OHO will prepare unique Uchinanchu salts, distinctively wrapped, along with more preserves and their crafted cards.

Moiliili Community Center (MCC) Senior Center

The Senior Center members of MCC remake kimono into wearable art, recycle fiber, fabrics, bottle caps and buttons into trivets. totes and jewelry, crochet floor rugs and even make patchwork quilts…all from donated items.

Registration Deadline: February 28, 2019