Happy New Year 2012!

Today I opened the studio for the first business day of 2012.
I'm so happy to be here and open the door for welcoming people into Loop of the Loom.
Mari came back from her vacation in Japan and helped me to clean the studio.
The studio is refresh now! Then we received the big packages from SAORI Japan. These boxes contained a SAORI wooden loom model "Kasasagi". This will be delivered to the division of Child Life of the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York Presbyterian as a gift from Japan. Our team has been very excited to receive this loom for children in the hospital.

I received another package from Mihoko of SAORI Worcester. This mail is much smaller. Still a lot of meaningful items were enclosed in the envelope.
The below is the announcement to SAORI weavers from SAORI Worcester.
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Hope all of you a very wonderful holidays.
As you may know after last 3/11/2011 many people who associates SAORI in Japan has been supporting SAORI friends who were effected by Tsunami. There are many people who had been suffering from the event. Some SAORI studios re-opened in summer or fall after the disaster. Now there are volunteer instructors who bring looms to shelters to give other victims to have opportunities to weave/relax.

Non-profit organization SAORI Hiroba in Osaka,Japan had organized projects to support Tsunami victims. The name of this project is "Omoi no Katachi". It means a form of "thinking of you" by my translation. They have been asking all SAORI weavers to donate scarves to raise fund or give to people who need them in the area where it gets snow a lot in winter. When I was at SAORI Hiroba last summer, I got the name tags of this projects to distribute to SAORI weavers in US and Canada. At last I am asking you to participate this project in any way you can.

I will send the project name tags to you as long as another paper tag which you can write your name and a message. Just one tag is enough but if you can make 2 , that would be wonderful. A group work is also appreciated.
It doesn't matter it's wool or cotton or rayon or any materials. You are donating your time, and labor with your loving, caring and thoughtful energy.

There is no due date. SAORI Hiroba emphasize this project have to run a long way. Remembering them is so important and if you can send your "form of thinking of them", that would be wonderful. At SAORI Hiroba when they have enough scarves they would distribute through a SAORI studio in Sendai or they would sell them at their gift shops/gallery and send the fund to people who are in struggling situation.

I apologize that I haven't reported more details about how the victims are doing specially SAORI friends. As long as I know there were no death in SAORI weavers' circle. But there were few studios which were damaged terribly by Tsunami. At this point some of them reopened the studio, some are on the process.

Thank you for your kind thoughts to Japan in advance. I hope our forms of thinking of them convey our friendship and encourage people who lost families, houses, jobs, health and many other things.
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If you'd like to be a part of this project, please drop or send your woven scarves to Loop of the Loom. I will mail the scarves all together to SAORI Hiroba in Osaka.