Yumi Shimada

Yumiket

What’s your story?

As a daughter of a mother who loves handicrafts, I grew up listening to a jingling sound of her knitting machine. At the age of six I asked her to knit my vest using my drawings, a smiling panda with a red balloon in its hand, which was the starting point of my creative life. Then there was a long hiatus from knitting. What I did during that time was a two-years backpacking and countless short trips, and countless kinds of jobs in between, including editor, advertising creator, working in tech and librarian. Most of them seem pointless to my current career but they definitely made who I am.

After the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, I picked up yarn and knitting needles again. Knitting has been both a healing and a hope. In 2015 I made my first swatch of the lotus flowers knitted in stranded colorwork with Shetland yarn. A swatch in knitting is a small piece of fabric you knit prior to a project, to see how many stitches you will need as well as to see if you like the colors and the texture. At the same time, I learnt that it is also a playground where you are free to pursue your colors and patterns. Ever since then, I have been obsessed with knitting swatches, not as a preparation before knitting something to wear, but as a work of art inspired by nature, everyday life, and traditional art/culture to create my original patterns and color expression.

What are your values?

Knitting swatches is a joy for me. I am often amazed at the magic that wool yarns can create. I knit with a plastic-free yarn and love the warmth and sustainability of wool. For me, playing with colors and patterns is an exciting adventure, exploring the possibilities of creating art with knitting. So far it hasn't really worked as a business, but I hope to continue to be a challenging artist in any way.

Where can we learn more about you and your work?

Instagram: @yumiket