Held at the end of May, Matsumoto Crafts Fair is one of the biggest crafts fairs in the country and it gathers visitors and craft artists from all over Japan (but mainly from Matsumoto, which has a reputation of being a city of artists).

The fair is held at Agata no Mori park, but this year it had stands in front of Nawate Street and Media garden as well, with different artists showing and selling their work (clothes, wooden items, jewelry, and more).

I visited two stands to ask some questions.

The first stand is Day Day!

Day Day is a family business. The wife specializes in dying fabrics and making clothes, while the husband works withs silk to create bags.
The wife gets inspiration from daily things of her life that move her to dye fabrics (this is why the shop is called day day). She says her works are like a diary.
The husband draws inspiration from the nests that birds make and tries to replicate their efforts in creating bags that look like nests with cotton rope and silk thread.

Actually this couple has a workshop in Asama, Matsumoto!

You can find them on instagram: deideijousaten

etelä is the work of a woman who moved to Matsumoto in 2012. She studied on books how to create himmeli, which are north european geometric decorations made with straws. She creates them using barley straws (you can see them in the fourth picture!). Her concept is “creating works that will match the life in Shinshu using things from Shinshu”.
You can also notice other kinds of decorations.
Her activity is successful and sometimes she participates in craft fairs in Europe as well!

You can find more on her instagram: etela.himmeli

As you can see, Matsumoto Crafts Fair can also be an occasion to talk to local artists and learn more about living and working in Matsumoto. If you are in town next year, consider paying a visit!