MOST current textile manufacturers use high-speed looms to create woven products.
JAPANESE textile manufacturer in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture – Kobo Oriza – uses a low-speed loom that was commonly used in textile factories up until 1970. By using such a low-speed loom, the crafter is able to make more intricate patterns and produce the stoles for which this company is becoming fast renowned.
Kobo Oriza is a factory located in an area known for its production of cotton textiles. The factory is on its journey of ‘returning to the basics of textiles’. Wanting to create textiles that are beautiful, airy and capable of showing the company’s distinct taste of ingredients, Kobo Oriza is attempting various ingenious weaving methods with crosses and knots of threads, which can’t be achieved with modern high-speed looms.
To achieve this effect, however, president of the company Masatoshi Takeda, had to restore old looms, many of which had been dismantled. After repairing and modifying the old looms, the craftsmen working on the pieces use expert technical skills, an innate sensitivity to beauty and a passion for textiles to craft intricate stoles that are available in a variety of styles and colours.
@ http://ito.oriza.jp/