Her Story

1965: Born in Germany to my Japanese Father and German Mother I am still a Japanese citizen and a permanent resident of the US. After studying textiles design at the Rhode Island School of Design, like most art students I headed to NYC. On most mornings as I left for work I would see the man who was living underneath my front stoop, sometimes we said hello.

I wanted to see if there was something I could do for my neighbor so one blustery evening I attended a forum on homelessness at the Dia Art Foundation. I realized that the global political economy of the textiles labor industry was indeed, in many ways, connected to homelessness in the United States.

Many of my projects at school were politically inspired or dealt with mathematical phenomena. I learned about fibers, print design, weaving, etc. but I wasn't specifically taught about the textiles industry's 'mode of production' which may have been discussed in studying Marx and semiotics but was clearly not taught in design school as a reality of producing our creative efforts. Most of the disciplines (textiles, fashion, industrial design, graphics, glass, film) have in some way at one time or another or continue to rely on off shore or state-side sweat labor and low-wage workers.

My new perspective on fashion and design seemed out of place in New York, so I made my way to the San Francisco Bay Area, where at the City of Berkeley's Planning Department I became more involved with the urban fabric. But I soon learned that homelessness was something that urban designers couldn't just design away.

Enter, My first child, my son, Théo. Tamalpais Kurihara Quayle.

My path took another curve and I found myself at a volunteer orientation for East Bay Habitat for Humanity. I stayed to speak with the director and ended up with a new job and a new conviction with which I might change the world and for the next 10 years worked my way through the community economic development field.

Not too long ago, I was the Program Director of a 'Welfare-to-Work' pilot project for the County of Alameda and the State of California where I managed a collaborative of 12 agencies focused on serving the non-English speaking population. However innovative and creative this program was, it was still wrought with social and systemic problems (mis-matched cultural philosophies, childcare, after school programs, transportation, housing, etc.)

1999. Enter Jason S. McBriarty, my soul partner in life.

2000. Enter, not too soon, my second child, my daughter, Denali Autumn Kurihara McBriarty.

By now, as a family we decided our priority was to nurture our children the best we could, make the financial sacrifices and focus on developing a business that reflected our values and that would hopefully make a difference in this world. It was also very important for me to be creative again and work from my home studio.

2002. Arrived, my socially responsible textile creations company…  
        hiroko kurihara designs.