What it is, in three moves
"Is it painted? Embroidered? Glued?"
No, no... and a little bit
-
I coat a board with adhesive
then carve grooves into it, following the drawing.
-
I cut your fabric
piece by piece.
-
I tuck each piece in
into the grooves with a pointed tool (but not too pointed).
The adhesive is underneath, never on top.
Your fabric keeps
its feel, the one you know ❤️
You can lay your hand on it
and feel the relief.
The result: your sentimental fabric finally in front of you every day, as a handmade picture.
It's called kinusaiga, it comes from Japan, and almost everything written about it is wrong. I checked.
Why a picture?
"It's been sitting in a box for six years."
I hear that all the time. And sometimes, something you wear isn't the right answer.
Too thin, too fragile, too worn, too little of it... for something you carry, but not for something you hang.
A bag or a wallet lives. It rubs, it gets rained on, it wears
out. That's rather the point...
But if the thought of
watching that particular fabric age makes your stomach turn, a
picture risks nothing. It stays as it is.
A mirror or a bomber jacket makes one person happy.
A
picture, the whole house gets to enjoy.
Hey, it happens to the best of us
Either way, your fabric can finally come out of its box.
What I can transform
What works
A football shirt. A tie. Baby clothes. A shirt. A scarf. A baby wrap. A wedding dress, a ceremony suit. Yours, or the clothes of someone who is no longer here.
Even if you think there's too little of it. Or that it's too damaged.
What depends on your fabric
One rule governs everything else: the thicker your fabric, the simpler the drawing has to stay. It's mechanical.
Fine points and tight details depend on the material. Silk allows what a baby wrap restricts. Crowd too many grooves into one spot and the foam collapses, and nothing holds any more.
As for gradients, they're only possible if your fabric already contains one. Which makes sense: each zone takes a single fabric.
So my real work starts before I touch any fabric: simplifying. Finding the shape that stays readable in flat areas.
When in doubt, send me a photo!
Seriously. It's free, it takes thirty seconds, and I'll tell you
honestly what we can do with it.
Including when the answer is
"nothing", which happens.
What occasions?
Three moments come up again and again.
A wedding
A few ideas (among others!) for such a particular day.
A picture made with the fabric you kept of them, so they're in the room that day.
Everyone sends a piece of fabric before the wedding, and I make a picture delivered for the big day. Everyone finds their own, and nobody knows what it will look like beforehand, a rather exciting collective experience. (Plan ahead: collection closes six to eight weeks before.)
With the dress, the suit, whatever was worn that day. To keep enjoying that day, every day. (Worth mentioning to whoever handles your alterations.)
After the wraps
Because there comes a day when they stop wanting to be carried...
I have a few permastash wraps myself.
The ones that saved
my mental health when I couldn't put him down, that carried us
through countless naps and shared moments... and that are never
leaving.
That's actually where I started, and I know these fabrics by heart. So when you entrust me with yours, I know what it means, technically as much as emotionally.
Grief and remembrance
"There were four of us sharing her wardrobe."
One garment can make several pictures, one per sibling for example. All the same, or a different composition each time.
And sometimes it's the person themselves who takes care of it, before leaving. She chooses her fabric, and what she wants done with it.
There are also newborn pyjamas. Those of babies who grew up, and those of babies who couldn't.
What I've made so far
The technique is new. The hands aren't.
I've been practicing kinusaiga for six months.
But fabrics
that matter, people have been entrusting me with them for over
five years.
More than 80 bespoke pieces, co-created with my
clients' fabrics, in leather goods and accessories.
What they say
"Marie is incredibly attentive and professional. You can entrust your memories to her without any worries."
Muriel C.
"Marie is an artist; she waits for the fabrics to speak to her, searches for the perfect color harmony, has an eye for extreme detail."
Brindille D.-J.
"Thanks to her good advice and professionalism, the result is stunning. I highly recommend her for all your textile transformations."
Fanny D.-D.
Yes, these aren't about "pictures". But they say something that matters even more: what it takes to hand someone a fabric you care about.
Two ways to entrust me with your fabric
What changes is how much room to maneuver you have.
The Essentials
One format only (for now), the 10 × 10 cm square.
One
drawing to choose from about ten.
Your fabric, within the
limits I mention above.
You have few decisions to make, and that's deliberate: it's what keeps bespoke more affordable.
Full bespoke
No limits, except the technical ones.
Size, shape, drawing, materials: everything is decided
with you.
You can start from a drawing I already offer and want it bigger,
or round. You can want something that exists nowhere.
This
is also where my vintage frames come out, when a project calls
for one. And if you have one at home you're attached to, we
start from that.
What you receive
A picture in relief, finished along the edges with a ribbon, and
with an engraved plate on the back: your piece's number, and a QR
code leading to its story. That plate is how it hangs.
In
full bespoke, it can also arrive in a frame, vintage or your own.
The ribbon is the only part of the construction you see, so I don't pick it at random. I hunt them down, I buy overstock, and sometimes I combine several on a single piece. I live in ribbon country, with a world-renowned ribbon maker in my own town and a braid factory forty-five minutes away: that heritage deserves to be shown off.
What about other formats?
A rectangle and a round one will probably join the Essentials, maybe bigger ones too. I don't open a format before someone asks for it, so I'm not giving you a date.
How it works
-
We talk
You show me your fabric, by email, video call or at the workshop, and you tell me what it is. We look together at what we can do with it, and above all at what you want to keep of it.
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We choose the drawing
Either you pick one of the drawings I offer. Or we start from your idea, and there I simplify, I draw, and I show you so you can approve it.
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Quote and deposit
You know what it costs, what it includes and when you'll have it. The project starts once you've signed and paid the deposit: 50 % on an Essential, 40 % on full bespoke. And I don't cut anything before that.
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I make it
Your choice: total surprise, or photos at every stage.
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You receive it
Carefully packed, ready to hang. And of course I send back whatever I didn't use, unless you'd rather leave it with me.
And your fabric, how does it reach my hands?
You drop it off at the workshop, or you send it by courier (whichever one you like, as long as there's tracking). Shipping both ways is on you.
I ship to France and outside the European Union.
Price and lead times
A bespoke picture starts at79 €
If we change nothing, that's what it stays.
If you want it bigger, a drawing created just for you, specific materials to source, a particular frame (from my stock or hunted down)... each of those adds time, and you can see where this is going: time is money.
You decide how far we go.
So no ceiling on display.
But no surprises either: you get
a quote before you commit.
Who I am
I'm Marie, a textile artist and craft artisan in the Loire.
I
work alone, in my workshop, and have done for over five years.
I've always drawn and made things. I was even a graphic designer before becoming an artisan, which comes in handy: a kinusaiga always starts with a drawing.
The trigger came from a blanket. Sewn for the arrival of our second child, from fabrics that mattered to us: my baby wrap, a t-shirt from my late father, a scrap of my niece's lovey.
I didn't know it yet, but it already looked a lot like a picture.
Since then, I've worked with other people's fabrics.
Frequently asked questions
How much fabric do you need?
Far less than you think. On a small format, a few pieces are enough, and they can come from different parts of the garment. It's the drawing that decides, not the surface area. And if there isn't enough, I have fabrics to fill in. Send me a photo and I'll tell you.
What exactly do you cut?
Only what's needed for the zones of the drawing, with a little margin: the excess disappears into the groove, and some is needed to cover the edges. Everything else comes back to you. And nothing is cut before you've approved the drawing and signed the quote.
Is there a frame?
There isn't. Your picture is finished along the edges with a ribbon and hangs by the plate on its back: it arrives ready to hang, just as it is. If you feel like framing it anyway, you can, with any shop-bought frame in the right size. I have references if you need them.
How do I look after it?
A wipe with a cloth now and then, and that's about all there is to do. As with any textile, avoid hanging it in direct sunlight.
What if I don't like the result?
You approve the drawing before I touch anything, and you can follow along in photos while I work. That said, once the fabric is inlaid, there's no going back: that's why we take our time beforehand.
Let's talk about your fabric
There's bound to be something, somewhere. In a box, at the back of a
wardrobe, in a carton you've never reopened.
Show it to me, and
we'll see together what we can do with it.
What's coming
The same gesture, but you're the one making it. You get the board, the drawing and everything you need to inlay, and you take your time at home. They'll arrive in my shop (new tab).
Together, around a table. For a hen party, a birthday, or just a good excuse to see each other. I'm still pinning down venues and dates.
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