ABOUT bara bara soft wares

bara bara is a fiber arts-based project that arose out of a creative instinct to explore the interplay between textiles, identity, the body, and the process of making clothing.

PROCESS

Each piece is meticulously fabricated using a combination of hand and semi-mechanical knitting and sewing techniques. High quality materials are sourced in small quantities and unique designs/patterns are made for each piece; therefore, each bara bara creation is one-of-a-kind. Similar items can be recreated upon request (custom order), but the same exact piece cannot be produced.

MATERIALS

bara bara soft wares are constructed using high quality, natural fibers including wool, alpaca, silk, linen, cashmere, and cotton. Materials are sourced from a variety of places, including California farms, Japan, Latvia, and Italy. bara bara soft wares labeled “LOCAL” are specially sourced from specific farms either in California or the Pacific Northwest.

Natural fibers tend to be more renewable. One can brush, clean, care for, and make anew garments made of natural fibers to a greater extent than those made of synthetic fibers. Occasionally synthetic fibers, such as nylon, are incorporated in order to enhance the durability of delicate fibers such as mohair. Truly high-quality garments tend to improve with age. As you wear the piece the fibers fluff, the fabric slowly molds to your body, and what was once a mere sweater one day will embodying your time, memories, and emotions. That is the kind of clothing and relationship to clothing that bara bara strives to fabricate and share.

ABOUT THE MAKER

Michiko (she/they) is a fiber artist and clothing designer based in San Francisco. She is the owner and founder of bara bara.

All products are designed and handmade by Michiko in San Francisco. Michiko’s design practice is informed by her multicultural upbringing, her love of color and texture, and her graduate studies in experimental film. She has an undergraduate degree in Italian Studies from Middlebury College, training in pattern making and construction from Apparel Arts, Oakland, and is currently pursuing her PhD at University of California, Berkeley. Michiko started to experiment with knitting, sewing and drop spindling as a child, and has steadily pursued her passion for clothing making and other creative media since then.