Korean Tufting Culture
Tufting is a weaving technique that has existed for a long time and is well known in Europe and the US. However, it has recently become popular thanks to social media and other factors, and is once again attracting attention worldwide.
Within Asia, it is Korea that is leading the tufting culture and setting trends.
There are so many tufting studios in Seoul that it is said there are as many as there are subway stations, and there are many studios not only in Seoul but all over the country.
Born out of fierce competition
As the number of tufting studios increased, the industry became more well-known and the number of people doing tufting increased, resulting in fierce competition in the market.
As a result, Korean tufting technology has improved dramatically compared to other countries, and many new techniques have emerged.
Tufting, which was previously common in carpets and rugs, has now come to be regarded as an art in Korea, and as one of the new art forms.
Artists who had previously worked in painting or sculpture have begun to produce tufting works, there have been solo exhibitions of works with tufting as a theme, and there has been active interaction between tufting artists (including those working in other arts besides tufting), which has helped to increase awareness of tufting.
*K-Tufting is a term that refers to all tufting in the Korean style (differences in techniques, designs, and other materials used) as envisioned by AOYAMA KONGBANG.
Towards culture formation
As tufting culture began to be created and formed in Korea, activities to support this tufting culture became active, such as the emergence of tufting gun repair specialists who provide equipment maintenance, the gathering of multiple tufting studios to research and share techniques, and the gathering of instructors from studios around the country to hold courses.
Tufting studios in Korea also offer master classes for advanced students, as well as classes for instructors who run studios.
An environment is created for continuous skill development and development, and the foundations are being laid for cultural formation.
Not only the tufting industry, but also major Korean companies are working to support the cultural development of tufting.
Major department stores are not only holding exhibitions of works by tufting artists, but are also actively taking on new initiatives such as incorporating VMD (visual merchandising) that makes use of the characteristics of tufting.
Additionally, it is believed that the fact that many companies are taking notice of and introducing tufting is also playing a major role, with famous brands collaborating with tufting artists to promote their new products.
In fact, the activities of these companies have increased the opportunities for tufting to be seen by the general public who are unfamiliar with it, which has led to increased awareness of "tufting" and I have met many students who say that it was this opportunity for them to come into contact with the world of tufting through social media.
Korean Boom
Due to the global K-POP and K-Drama boom, Korean culture has been attracting attention, and products such as tufted mirrors have become popular as part of the "Korean" Korean interior design.
Tufting itself is a manufacturing method that has existed for a long time, but the attention to detail, unique use of color, and design are different in many ways from traditional methods, and it can be said that Korea has a unique tufting culture.
K-Tufting
With the above as the background, AOYAMA KONGBANG® has named its Korean style tufting (differences in techniques, designs, and other materials used) "K-Tufting ® ".