About Rimiko

Originally born and raised in Tokushima, a small city in the Shikoku region of Japan, Rimiko grew up surrounded by Japanese artisan crafts including Aizome (indigo), Washi (traditional Japanese paper), traditional woodworking, carving, and painting, as well as weaving with natural materials.

Rimiko is a talented and passionate artist who works in many different mediums. Independent and adventurous, she loves to take traditional ways of working and apply her own modern interpretation — fusing different styles and traditions to create something new.

Drawing on her roots in Japanese weaving, Rimiko’s artistic interests have grown to include basket making and weaving with materials indigenous to Northern California. Working with her mentor and teacher Charles Kennard, she has built numerous boats made from tule (a type of bulrush that grows in freshwater marshes in California), including the tule boats used in the IMAX movie Into America’s Wild.

Rimiko has also grown her knowledge of Native Americans arts through classes with legendary basket makers Julia and Lucy Parker, and studying California Native American baskets in the Anthropology department at U.C. Davis.

More recently, Rimiko has expanded her repertoire to include leather-working. Learning in a saddle shop (traditionally a male-oriented environment), she has created high-end original bags, wallets, belts, and bespoke leather garments such as riding chaps.

Rimiko lives and works in Northern California — where she pursues her dream of using her lifetime of artistic experiences to create unique? experiences for other people.