An afternoon of baskets!

Doug Johnston's studio is located in a huge old industrial building on the boundary between Kensington and Borough Park—that's pretty deep into Brooklyn. It was such a pleasure to meet both Doug and his wife Tomoe Matsuoka. They were so gracious and accommodating as they showed us around their space, letting us nose around their sewing machines and play with their various baskets and bags. They've split their space into two rooms, with the more light-filled of the two being used as the sewing room. It's light, bright, humming as the sewing machines run, and lined with baskets and color. Each basket is constructed from coiled braided cotton cord that's zig-zag stitched into shape, and they're starting to play with nylon cord now too, especially for their lighting pieces.

Sarah, one of their excellent sewer, working on something small.

Doug working on something big.

Thanks Doug and Tomoe for a lovely afternoon!