The name “The Tsubaki” came from my love of Camelia’s which is one of Japan’s most well known traditional flowers. Hundreds of tsubaki’s (camelia’s) bloom in winter and the leaves are evergreens all through the year meaning it is not only one of the most popular but also one of the most beautiful flowers in Japan. To me tsubaki (camelia’s) evoke the feelings of “passion, beauty and loyalty”. One of my big interests is floriography (“hana kotoba”). Floriography was used as a means of coded communication through various flowers and floral arrangements. Whilst I have always thought of ways to incorporate floriography into the design, it turned out flowers were not actually the first thing I created! That was something entirely different!

I started to make doughnuts when my children were playing pretend shopping. They told me that they wanted some doughnuts as a toy (whilst not flowers, I do still like doughnuts)! With the feeling of attempting to be creative, I tried to sew one by felt and luckily, my children really loved it! They then started to ask me for more and more! Now having made doughnuts, this gave me the confidence to move to my greater passion of flowers and create and then arrange them in pretty patterns (floriography). This was so exciting. I was loving the aspect of creating things out of felt which has almost developed from a passion to a slight obsession! I get great delight by seeing how much my children love playing with my colourful soft toys that I have created for them. This has led me to think of more and more things I can make!

Fast forward and I have now created not just doughnuts and flowers but also Sushi, hair accessories and this is just the start! I have many more ideas to come! All the things I create bring me much joy in different ways! I am lucky that so far, my 7 and 6 year old also love my creations and always want to put my designs on their heads, in their rooms or just play with and leave on the floor!

My biggest hope is that by having decorated felt gifts in your home, you and your family will also get the same sense of happiness and joy! Finally, as a designer, my aim is to endeavour to forever keep my mind as open and free as when I first started making my crafts. Just like those beautiful evergreen leaves.