New Collection | matka

Kotomi Akatsuka works as a freelance florist and shop display designer. One day, she thought to herself, “I wish I could find accessories that were more special and looked better on me.” She searched for the perfect items, but couldn’t find the right fit. “Then why don’t I just make it myself?” That’s how she founded matka.

In 2007, she discovered the Ramie material (a grass fiber), and started to make bags and accessories with it. Since then, she went on to organize art shows and workshops around Japan.

This time, Mrs. Akatsuka helped Norm select spring and summer items, starting with the 100% Linen Sacoche Bag. During these seasons, the less you have when you leave the house, the better.

matka's sacoche bag is very light, but also quite firm. In order to achieve this combination, Mrs. Akatasuka spent a good deal of time researching the knitting and trying different approaches.

Mrs. Akatsuka used a manual sewing tool on her desktop that doesn't require electricity.

Before sewing, the linen needs to first be organized and cleaned. Natural linen features inconsistent thickness; when knitting, this can result in little knots of uneven size. Mrs. Akatasuka examines the linen in detail before placing it on the machine in order to produce a consistent thickness; if it becomes too thin, she doesn't use it. The advantage of natural linen is that it's very durable and breathable; in fact, it's similar in material to what's used by the Japanese Defense Forces.

Cleaned and organized linen in the machine.

The left and right sides need to be knitted using the same strength; otherwise, they become uneven.

After knitting a cloth, Mrs. Akatsuka checks to see if there are differences in knot sizes. If there are, she needs to restart the line.

Once the cloth is checked, it needs to be sealed so that it doesn't break.

The ponytail handle is crocheted with a needle and attached to the side of the bag.

With the sacoche bag, you can leave the house and take a walk with both hands free.

 Buy matka's sacoche bag HERE!

 Photo credit: matka