The Southern Thread

Showing Up Anyway

Today was our very first Wool & Wonder Learn to Knit Day. No one came. I won’t pretend that wasn’t disappointing — it’s always a bit disheartening when you put energy into something and it do...

Thoughts on home and homesickness

I wrote an earlier post about long-term homesickness which was a prevailing feeling I was having earlier in the year. I have since been home to New Zealand for a fairly extended period and conseque...

Why Visit New Zealand in Winter? A Quiet Season Full of Wonder

While most travellers from Japan head south in summer, there’s something deeply special about discovering New Zealand during winter. With direct flights from Tokyo to Auckland, the journey has neve...

In Good Company: Thoughts on Belonging, Foreignness, and Community

Lately, there’s been a noticeable stir in the air. Among Japan’s foreign community, conversations are bubbling up about a shift in tone—particularly in political commentary. There’s been talk of fo...

Planning a Wool-Focused Trip to New Zealand

The early stages of a slow and purposeful journey In September I’ll be heading to New Zealand — a place close to my heart, and the home of the beautiful wool I work with every winter here in Japan....

A Check-Up on More Than Just My Health

Today I did something that’s been on my to-do list for a while: I went for a physical check-up. The kind you’re meant to do every year. For me, it had been five. I kept putting it off. I told myse...

Southward Memories: The Origins of a Love Affair with Winter

Before I ever sold a single woolly thing, I was in love with winter. As the school holidays roll around I am remembering all the trips back home to NZ with my kids. It's been quite a few years sinc...

Threaded Between Two Worlds

I recently read a piece on long-term homesickness. It was about more than missing a place — it spoke to missing a version of yourself, of your life, that lives far away now.   Not homesick in the t...