Katie Chaplin

I am a textile artist based in North Yorkshire. I began silk painting in 2003 and have since studied many other traditional Japanese crafts such as shibori (tie-dyeing), kumihimo (braiding), origami and tea ceremony, both in the UK and Japan.

I set up Japan Crafts in 2006 after struggling to find any craft kits I could sell that weren't written in Japanese! I decided it would be great to create a range of kits in English so others could discover the beautifully designed items I love so much. Textile and paper based, they complement my art work and craft workshops perfectly and are always popular at shows.

I travel to Japan once a year to meet suppliers and trawl through local markets and shops, picking up the very best fabrics, kimono and papers and learning new skills which I can teach in the UK - it's a hard life but someone has to do it...

I deliver talks and workshops throughout the UK for WI's Embroidery Guilds, museums, schools and other groups. My most popular talk is a demonstration of Kimono Dressing, and the most popular workshop is Silk Painting. In 2008 I also had my own solo show at Edinburgh Fringe for an exhausting but great fun consecutive run of 23 days.

In 2009 I will be opening a small studio in rural North Yorkshire for day and residential courses; please email or call me for details or check my website which is updated regularly.

If there is anything connected with Japan that you are looking for, feel free to get in touch as I may be able to provide it (or know someone who can!)