Our Favorite Instagrammers – @sashikodenim
Name: Pey
Instagram Name: @sashikodenim
Amount of followers: 4192
Age: 33
Residence: Haarlem, The Netherlands
Occupation: Designer / Artist
- Why do you share your outfits?
My main motivation to share my work is to create a counter reaction to today’s fast cycle of ‘use turned to waste’. It all started as an online archive of my work though.
- What makes your Instagram feed so special?
The focus and dedication to repairing and altering denim with one particular technique, sashiko stitching. Which is for me the most pure form of mending cloth.
- Where does your inspiration come from?
I try to use a traditional way of mending on today’s core denim products in order to create more valuable and unique pieces. Inspiration comes from meeting the client and seeing their life reflected in their favorite denim, the unique wear and tear, their dedication to breaking in that raw denim and sticking to it. I love worn jeans, your favorite jeans that need mending. I love the life in them and the fact that every pair is shaped to the person, their life and movements. Every repair I do is unique. The japanese mending techniques have a long heritage and with that a lot of inspiration is found in history, I try to use that in a modern way.
- Where does your love for denim come from? When did it start?
I have a love for high quality products. Why buy a cheap version of a product you use a lot when there is a ultimate version available. Buy quality goods, use them for a long time and repair when possible. This way a pocketknife can become a unique personal item of much higher value (to the owner) than just another knife in the drawer or store. The same with shoes, the same with denim. I love denim because it’s a seemingly simple product, everybody owns one, but the more you get in to the product, the heritage, the fading process, the more interesting and ‘deeper’ the indigo world gets. And then somewhere along that journey, you’re hooked. At least that’s how it went for me.
It all started when my favorite jeans at the time (KOI) were torn well before I expected them to. I started to research traditional mending techniques, being a minimalist at heart I wanted to have the most pure form of cloth repair by hand to mend this denim. This search ended when I came across the ancient Japanese mending technique. The technique is all self taught, with a lot of bloody fingertips and hours and hours of work. This seemingly simple stitch, or ‘little stab’, is a great challenge for a perfectionist like me. The geometric patterns are impressive to see and even more challenging to create, the beauty is in the imperfection and patience is key.
- Your top 3 favourite (denim)brands?
(0 soft spot: EVISU – My first raw’s and creatively a very interesting brand.)
1 BENZAK – High quality product, Lennaert is bringing the core product to a higher level.
2 LEBL Denim – Leon, a truly talented young tailor from Amsterdam.
3 Grivec bros – Raw dutch guys in core denim.
As I read the above I realize the thing they have in common is doing one thing very well and keeping course with their mission.
6. What is your favorite accessory?
My swiss toolwatch. Highest quality movement and steel, black dail and great heritage. Nickname: Dora.
7. What items do you wear the most at the moment?
At the moment I’m 65 days in a Japanese selvedge Denham. Virgin Razor in the process of turning vintage. But the next one will be either a Benzak or a Grivec…
- What is your favorite shop? And what is your favorite webstore?
Acne store London – Very well designed interior.
Manufactum webstore – Essential products for everyday use.
- Do you care about the production process?
I do very much, my whole motivation to get my way of thinking out there is about producing less, producing better and giving life to high quality goods.
- What are your dreams for the future?
I hope I can turn some heads around with my creations and with that teach people that fast just isn’t the future, slow is.
Consistency with small innovation.
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