SAORI Looms and Resources

We believe we can build a global community in which we may all exist, think and create differently, together. To make this vision a reality, we offer philosophical resources and carefully designed, easy-to-use tools that inspire and enable all individuals to discover and nurture their natural abilities to create, regardless of age, previous experience or physical and intellectual capabilities.

Carefully designed to empower and connect.
Best paired with love and respect.

We are working on additional updates to this page, but for now you may see an overview of our product offerings below as well as view an online version of our current product catalogue. If you are interested in placing an order, please contact a Registered SAORI Studio that is located within your country and listed in the directory here. Although you may not be located within the immediate area of an existing Registered SAORI Studio and in-person gathering may not be possible at this time, we strongly encourage localized connections for continued support and community as much as possible.

For those who live in countries where there are no Registered SAORI Studios, please see our important update on order taking below.

books

We offer books on the history, philosophy and practice of SAORI in both English and Japanese. For many, these text resources serve as an initial seed and foundation for their practices of SAORI and continue to nourish their development together with in-person guidance and experiences with the community.

SAORI: Self-Innovation through Free Weaving by Misao Jo and Kenzo Jo (English, 148 pages)
This reference book is an invaluable resource for learning about all aspects of SAORI, including its history and philosophy with translations of the founder Misao Jo's original writing as well as illustrated warping and weaving techniques.

looms and weaving accessories

Easy and Fun to Use
SAORI looms are designed specifically to be best-suited for the practice of SAORI, so that anyone can start and continue weaving after learning a few, simple steps. Regardless of age, previous experience or physical and intellectual capabilities, all individuals can easily and comfortably enjoy SAORI for a lifetime.

Accessible and Versatile
A wide variety of accessories make SAORI looms truly accessible to people with different needs and creative interests. SAORI is possible for everyone, regardless of whether one uses a wheelchair or has difficulty using both hands or perhaps wants to skip the warping process entirely and finds most creative fulfilment in weaving itself.

Made in Japan
All SAORI products are made of high-quality materials with expert craftsmanship and the utmost care in the SAORINOMORI manufacturing facility in Izumi, Osaka. Made with natural wood, each loom part may have different grain, and the colour of the loom turns deeper and richer over time while the practice and bond between the weaver and the loom gets deeper and stronger. They are built to last and also support the sustainability of other local family-owned businesses in Japan.

Ready-made warps

The first of its kind, our innovative SAORI Ready-Made Warps minimize the often felt, intimidating and time-consuming nature of the warping process. Regularly offered Ready-Made Warps are available in black cotton and wool. Although we typically think of blank canvases as white, something that Misao Jo realized was that black warps allowed most colors to appear brightly while they might otherwise be muted on white warps. As a result, the black warps encouraged people to think less about which colors to weave with and follow their intuition more easily, no matter what their experience with SAORI has been.

The longest available Ready-Made Warp has a length of 30 meters (33yds), so you can thread once and enjoy weaving a long, continuous piece or several pieces all on the same warp. All SAORI Ready-Made Warps are produced manually with attentive care.

Yarns

Together with the other resources and tools we offer, our yarns give wings to the powers hidden within each individual and transform creative spirit into tangible form. SAORI Yarns are developed and produced specifically for handweaving in a wide range of unique colors, textures and thicknesses to inspire and allow weavers to experiment and express themselves freely.

We offer regularly available Classic SAORI Yarns in Cotton, Organic Cotton, Jute, Linen, Wool, Cashmere, Alpaca, Camel and Cultivated Silk. We also offer a limited supply of Specialty SAORI Yarns in Cotton, Wool, Silk, Rayon, Acrylic, Metallic and other synthetic fibers.

Important Notice: Resuming Direct International Sales (Updated October 2022)

First, we would like to thank you all very much for your support and interest in SAORI. Particularly during the past few years, our family company has been actively reassessing and taking steps to strengthen operations in support of the growing SAORI community all over the world. As a very small team specifically delegated to international operations, this process of restructuring has required much time and energy and we acknowledge this has already caused inconveniences and delays in our responses to numerous inquiries.

With the additional strain and insecurities brought on by the global outbreak of COVID-19, including the continued disruptions to transportation routes, we had to temporarily suspend all direct international sales to customers located in countries with no Registered SAORI Studios for more than a year.

While we realize the actual capacity we have as the small but busy, family-operated company, we have decided to resume the direct sales for the customers located in the countries with no Registered SAORI Studios. We made this decision aiming to support and nurture the life-long creative practice of each individual weaver through SAORI beyond Japan with our best effort at this time. We will greatly appreciate everyone’s kind understanding and patience because the communication and service we can offer for each one of you may take time due to the limited capacity of the team.

Please understand that we cannot take orders from some countries and regions not having reliable methods for secure delivery of our valuable products. In such cases, our team will respond and notify you about the unavailability of the services. Please also note that we decline any domestic orders involving other entities located in Japan, which include but are not limited to your friends, relatives and third party international shipping services. We have this important sales policy in order to prevent the delivery problems such as delays, losses and damages of our valued products. Thank you very much for your kind understanding.

We are working to the best of our abilities to improve the quality and sustainability of our services and support for all those interested in SAORI both within and outside of Japan. We are beyond grateful for the growth we have seen in the SAORI community all over the world, and we recognize the need for additional resources and access to those resources as this global community continues to grow and evolve. We thank you very much for your kind understanding and support as we continue in these efforts.