From top: Waka Waka handmade knitting needles, Waka Waka zig zag sculpture, Shaku ruler. “We got the Shaku rulers at this very old hardware store, and they’re on a measurement standard that no one uses anymore, except for measuring kimonos. Shin’s grandmother used to teach tea ceremony, and his mother has boxes and boxes of her kimonos, which she showed us when we visited. Typically you’d just have a few for ceremonies like weddings and funerals, but Shin’s grandmother wore them every day because it was part of her practice. Kimonos are always made as a full rectangle that you never actually cut; you fold and stitch the fabric to fit the person. Shaku rulers are now used for that purpose.”