Last year I had the pleasure of taking this tour as a participant at the invitation of Maggie Backman, the 2009 tour coordinator and organizer.  As a member of the Silk Experience teaching group and dyer of silk, the trip expanded my knowledge of this most fascinating fiber.  It also provided me with a wellspring of new ideas and inspirations, which continue to provoke my work and further my desire to learn more about Japan and its arts and crafts. 
 
Our Japanese coordinator for the Silk Study Tour is Hirata-san. Hirata-san makes this trip a special treat as he too, learns and shares his family history.  His great grandfather owned and ran their own filature mill in the mid to late 1800's and his grandfather was sent to New York at the turn of the century to be educated and from there, serve the family's thriving silk export business. Hirata-san is an invaluable coordinator and his extra attention to detail makes this trip extremely pleasurable.
 
It is with great delight that I accepted Maggie's request to lead this upcoming tour and provide this experience to a new group of silk aficionados. Our desire remains to foster a continuous thread of communication and education with Japanese silk masters, educators, and artisans that will lead each of us into a new fiber future. In this way, we continue to offer future exchanges of silk information and provide teaching and marketing opportunities on both sides