Sewing Pins Made with the Traditional "Tombo-dama" Glass Technique
Story
These exquisite sewing pins feature a tombo-dama glass bead adorned on the top. Tombo-dama beads are a Japanese traditional craft, produced in a variety of colors and unique designs by master craftsmen. Tombo-dama literally means "dragonfly's eye" because these beautiful glass beads resemble the mysterious eyes of dragonflies.
Cohana's Tombo-dama Sewing Pins are made with "millefiori," which means " thousands of flowers'' in Italian. It is a glass rod with a floral pattern inside.The pattern of a Millefiori rod is designed by combining colored glass bars. In the very beginning the rod is short and Thick, but it is heated in a furnace and pulled until a diameter of 3 to 8 mm while still maintaining the cross section's design.
Artisans utilize the manufacturing techniques of Tombo-dama, using millefiori made in-house, carefully welding each piece by hand. Millefiori rods are heated in the flame of a burner, carefully shaped and extruded, then attached to the pin. Pins measure approimately 5mm in diameter at the head and are produced lovingly by hand at Kinari Glassworks in Osaka. Each pin is entirely unique with its own distinct charm, like a flower.
Pins are supple yet durable, and manufactured in Hiroshima, a city with a 300-year history of high-quality needle production. Rigorous quality control ensures unified thickness and length of pins, and their ability to pierce cloth with ease.
Assorted 3-sewing pin set
3 assorted sewing pins. ※Colors and patterns cannot be assigned.
Producing Regions
Osaka, Hiroshima
Producer
Tombo-dama glass beads｜Kinari Glass／Osaka
Kinari Glass was founded in 1994 in Osaka City as a company providing burner work supplies and materials for Tombo-dama glass beads manufactured in-house. They relocated their factory functions to Tanba Sasayama City in 2000 and developed their original environmentally friendly lead-free glass for crafts.
Each artisan brings out the best in glass and carefully produces each item with care and attention.
