Over the years, my creative direction has evolved along with my personal growth and changing interests.
I started with making small charms, then progressed to palm-sized animals, human-shaped amigurumi, and now, influenced by shoujo manga, I’m focusing on pieces themed around boys and girls.
Let me share how these changes occurred.
It All Started with Small Animal Amigurumi Charms
My journey with amigurumi began when I made small animal charms for children.
Until six years ago, I had no experience with knitting, and my first spontaneous creations turned out quite unique (laughs).
However, from there I taught myself how to crochet, and now I’ve grown to the point where people say “I want that!”The animal charms were especially popular among pet owners. Occasionally, I received requests to make charms of pets who had passed away. I was deeply moved to see customers shed tears of joy when they received their amigurumi.
Due to many pet-related requests, customers started asking me if I could make them “a bit larger.”
So I switched to using yarn and tried making palm-sized animals, which customers absolutely loved. Seeing their joy made me feel, ‘I’m so glad I created this!’ It was incredibly rewarding.
Having many customers who deeply love their pets made me realize countless times how “pets are truly family members.” As long as there are requests, I want to continue fulfilling them.
Challenging My First Character Amigurumi
In 2020, when I heard that my favorite picture book was being made into a movie, I couldn’t contain myself and created amigurumi of the book’s characters!
It was my first time making human-shaped amigurumi, It was quite challenging to complete, but through this, I discovered my style, what I wanted to create, and where my passions lay.
Orders for Human-Shaped Amigurumi!
As mentioned above, in 2020, I created and shared my first human-shaped amigurumi. Then, someone who saw it ordered saying, “I want an amigurumi that looks like me!”
Using the experience from my first creation, I put my heart into making it, and I remember like yesterday how touched I was when the customer was overjoyed.
Manga Love Influencing My Amigurumi…
Recently, I’ve become hooked on shoujo manga (laughs), and this love for manga is influencing my work!
Currently, I’m focusing on pieces themed around boys and girls, trying to express “heart-fluttering moments” through amigurumi!
↑This shows a couple on their first date at a summer festival
↑This shows the moment they realize their feelings are mutual
Some pieces are available for sale in my shop, so please take a look!
▶️ https://amigurumiche.base.shop
Realizing Both Are Proud Japanese Cultural Elements
I realized that both “amigurumi” that I make and the “manga” I’m currently into are wonderful aspects of Japanese culture!
Therefore! I hope to continue creating pieces that help more people around the world discover and appreciate Japanese culture.
I will continue my activities hoping to help more and more people learn about “Japan.”
