In her home in Los Angeles’
Koreatown, Yoko sews her
jewelry by hand and machine.
(She uses a Professional
Brother.)
and sells in her Etsy shop, Homako, require needle and
thread. “Usually, I just start playing,” she says of her design
process, “but sometimes if it’s difficult I might have a very
rough sketch as a reference.”
Her often colorful and quirky pieces are inspired by
old children’s cartoons, flowers, and candies. The most
popular in her collection is the Kuru Maru—a series of five
orbs made out of felt circles separated by faceted beads that
hang from a delicate chain. Yoko speculates that people are
drawn to its hues and unique shape.
While she employs a wide range of materials, they tend to
be lightweight for comfort and ease of wear. For example,
there’s the Wood Jewel (a trio of large, faceted wood beads
paired with a chain); the Nami Wave (decidedly feminine
overlapping pleated fans of fabric); the Fuwa Bow (a group-
ing of small fabric bows); the Wakusei (beads in an assort-
ment of sizes and pastel shades); and the Kaleidoscope Felt
Collage (multicolored felt diamonds assembled in an eye-
catching pattern). Several of her more sculptural designs,
which are also made with textiles, are influenced by the art
of origami.
Although she studied fashion and spent some time liv-
ing in Tokyo, Yoko currently calls Los Angeles home; she
moved there two years ago after getting married. “I love the
nice weather here,” she says, “and that always motivates me
to work.”
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