Company Profile

La Mer Co., Ltd. was founded in Kyoto in December 2007, built on know-how in direct trading with overseas manufacturers and workshops that we developed through years of trading experience. We specialise in dyeing, spinning and weaving. Although we are a small company, we are proud to hold the leading knowledge and experience in Japan in this field.

We work directly with manufacturers and workshops around the world, importing and selling equipment, tools and wool for hand spinning and hand weaving. As the official Japan distributor for Ashford and other overseas manufacturers, we deliver products with reliable quality and warranty support. We value the texture of every material, the feel of every tool, and the spirit of the people who make them, choosing only what genuinely serves makers in their craft. We aim to maintain a stable supply in both quality and quantity, so that individual crafters and makers of original products alike can rely on us with confidence.

I myself have worked for many years as a teacher of dyeing, spinning and weaving, while continuing to create. Drawing on this experience, we hold courses and workshops across Japan, sharing both the techniques and the appeal of handcraft. We also invite instructors from Ashford for special courses and host workshops led by Japanese craftspeople, to create more opportunities to learn. With teaching technique and conveying the charm of materials as our two guiding principles, we continue to spread the enjoyment of handcraft.

Here in Kyoto there is a tradition of silk weaving, but what La Mer offers is a different world: wool-based spinning and hand weaving. We value bringing a relaxed, warm and unpretentious kind of handcraft time to everyone.

This philosophy gave rise to our original product, the La Mer Loom. Working closely with students in the classroom, we wished for a loom that could be carried easily to class and taken home to continue weaving, even if a piece was not finished during the lesson. To bring this idea to life, we first co-developed the loom with Ashford, and today, while carrying on its original design philosophy, we use domestic timber and craft each loom by hand, one at a time, in workshops here in Japan. Finished with care by Japanese craftsmen and refined again and again based on feedback from users, it has become a lighter, easier to use loom loved by many.

We have also gone on to develop other original products shaped by users’ feedback, including the Spinny electric spinner, plying machines and fringe twisters.

We will continue to explore materials, develop tools and create opportunities to learn, so that more people can discover the joy of handcraft.

Miyoko Ito
Managing director
La Mer Co., Ltd.