A Mindfulness Zen Weaving Dojo
Escape the NYC hustle and bustle at Loop of the Loom, where you can let your creativity flow freely with our Mindfulness Zen Weaving.
Since 2005, we've been sharing this unique and easy-to-learn art form. Loop of the Loom is more than just a studio; it's an artistic community that embraces the freedom and joy of freestyle weaving.
Inspired by the philosophy of a zen dojo, we encourage inner peace through the act of weaving. There's no pressure to copy techniques or conform – individuality is celebrated here.
With over 20 years of teaching experience, we've developed a unique "Zen Weaving" session that has guided thousands worldwide on a meditative and artistic weaving journey. We welcome everyone to experience the mindfulness benefits of our little zen dojos.
Our Studios
Our first studio opened in 2005 in Englewood, NJ, a suburban town in New York. In 2008, we relocated to the Upper East Side, and in 2019, we opened our second studio in DUMBO, Brooklyn, to connect with the vibrant art and craft scene there.
For 20 years, Loop of the Loom has been revitalizing the weaving community in New York and beyond through numerous projects, including community partnerships, sustainable collaborations with designers, children's education, and employment support for people with disabilities. We also host textile workshops with both traditional Japanese masters and contemporary artists. Going forward, we aim to leverage our capabilities through collaborations with individuals and organizations, weaving a deeper and broader connection with society, just as we weave cloth with warp and weft.
Our Stores
Every year Yukako visits remote villages in Japan to learn traditional handicrafts on the verge of extinction. These experiences have changed my vision to revive these ancient sustainable methods with natural materials to inspire others.
In-store and online, we sell high-quality Japanese yarns, fiber arts tools, organic products, natural dyes, and hand-crafted items that we carefully curated with sustainability and wellness in mind, suited for the eco-conscious crafter.
Our Staff
YUKAKO SATONE
Founder/Instructor
Yukako studied visual design at an arts college in Japan, working as a graphic designer on the side. After dropping out, She opened a unique space where young people could meet and immerse themselves in listening to world music and organized many live events. At 25, she moved to New York City to work as an assistant art director at an advertising agency. Following a period as a freelance designer and raising her daughter, she was introduced to contemporary Japanese handweaving. Strongly encouraged by a childhood friend who ran an inclusive textile arts studio, Atelier SUYO, for people with disabilities, Yukako brought a loom back to the U.S. to continue her self-taught weaving journey. Just a month later, she experienced the tragedy of 9/11. Yukako found weaving to be a therapeutic way to heal from the trauma, realizing it was not just a solitary endeavor but a means of connection with others. She held her first weaving workshop near Ground Zero for grieving friends and children. Traveling to numerous locations to demonstrate weaving as a public art, she discovered that it was a therapy for finding joy in living.
With a grant from the Peace Stone Foundation as a teaching artist, sled a one-month teacher training program in West Africa, and participated in various artist-in-residence programs.
In 2015, Yukako co-founded a 501(c)3 organization with fellow Loop of the Loom members, Ria Hawks, a pediatric nurse and weaver, and Brandy Godsil, a fiber artist and fashion designer. Now renamed Intertwine Arts, they will continue to create opportunities for disabled and chronically ill communities to foster creativity and develop artistic independence through weaving.
Just as a child explores play with his first toy, you explore what gives you joy. You will find the true nature of humans in your creation which was woven without being forced by anyone or any technique. It facilitates mindful meditation and lets us awaken to a fundamental human wholeness - this is something I would like to share with you and all communities in the world.
Yukako
NOBUKO TSURUTA
Teaching Artist/Instructor
Nobuko is a New York City-based fiber artist whose work is exhibited internationally. Her practice explores the dynamic connection between materials and their creative energy, blending traditional and experimental techniques. Nobuko creates installations, experimental fashion, and performance pieces that embody the vitality of her medium.
Originally from Kamakura, Japan, Nobuko earned a degree in economics from Rikkyo University and worked in the fashion industry for eight years. After moving to New York, she graduated from a two-year haute couture program and discovered handwaving at Loop of the Loom, which transformed her path into a fiber artist. As a teaching artist, she shares her passion for weaving through workshops that connect communities around the world.
Through weaving, I aim to convey the importance of recognizing the beauty in being true to oneself. When I first moved to New York, I struggled with language barriers and cultural differences, losing my confidence and feeling emotionally and physically drained. During this challenging time, I discovered freeform weaving that celebrates individuality and embraces the “unexpected beauty” of mistakes. This encounter became the turning point that opened the door to my creative journey.
For me, weaving is meditation. It is a dialogue with my inner self, where I transform thoughts and emotions into tangible threads. By letting go of fixed expectations, I create spontaneously, allowing new forms and textures to emerge organically.
I hope my work inspires viewers to rediscover the beauty within themselves and find a sense of lightness and acceptance in their own lives.
Nobuko
Visit her website at NobukoArt.com.
Interns / Bartering shifts
Loop of the Loom needs your skills and talent for various out of the studio workshops as well as studio works. You will receive the opportunities to learn weaving and more. For details, please ask us.
Past Events
2016
FIT Summer Institute: Sustainability in Fashion and Textiles - Systems Disruption
The Parsons New School of Design Block Party
World Maker Faire (Queens, NYC)
NYS Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
Renegade Craft Fair (Brooklyn, NYC)
2015
Loop of the loom 10th anniversary Show " We've been weavin' together ! (Tenri Gallery, NYC)
NEWS- New England Weavers Seminar (Smith College, MA)
Pelham Arts Center (Pelham, NY)
Japan Block Fair (NYC)
World Maker Faire (Hall of Science, Queens, NYC)
NYS Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
Brooklyn Waldorf School (NYC)
2014
Loop of the Loom "Japan Textile Tour" (Japan)
Handweavers guild of Connecticut (CT)
World Maker Faire (Hall of Science, Queens, NYC)
NYS Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY)
Pelham Arts Center (Pelham, NY)
2013
Loop of the Loom Exhibition (Tenri Gallery, NYC)
New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY)
NYS Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
The New York Guild of Handweavers (NYC)
World Maker Faire (Hall of Science, Queens, NY)
2012
American Museum of Natural History "Weave SAKURA for Japan!"
New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY)
NYS Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
Brooklyn Waldorf School (NYC)
The Steiner School (NYC)
Horacemann School (NYC)
World Maker Faire (Queens, NY)
BUST Craftacular (NYC)
Bank Street School Fall Fair (NYC)
2011
Japan Society (NYC)
Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York / Columbia University Medical Center (NYC)
Hand in Hand Remembering 911- Manhattan Youth Downtown Community (NYC)
New York Botanical Garden, Family Picnic (Bronx, NY)
Bank Street School Artist Presentation (NYC)
Sister Pats' Camp of NY Presbiterian Hospital (NY)
VSA Arts New Jersey, Art Festival (New Brunswick, NJ)
World Maker Faire (Queens, NY)
Re-Birth exhibition by Nobuko Tsuruta (NYC)
BUST Craftacular (NYC)
Bank Street School Fall Fair (NYC)
New York State Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
2010
Parsons The New School for Design (NYC)
Horace Mann School Nursery (NYC)
Third Avenue Street Festival (NYC)
MARTE at P.S.163 (NYC)
92 Y Street Festival (NYC)
New York Botanical Garden, Family Picnic (Bronx, NY)
Camp Sister Pats / Columbia University Medical Center (NY)
NYU Medical Center Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation (NYC)
New York State Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
2009
The New York Botanical Garden; Kiku Exhibition(Bronx, NY)
The Hospitality Committee for United Nations Delegations (NYC)
Bank Street School Fall Fair (NYC)
New York State Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
Eco Fair at The Anderson School PS 334 (NYC)
Third Avenue Street Festival (NYC)
NYU Medical Center Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation (NYC)
Kaplan JCC on the Palisades; Camp Dream Street (Tenafly, NJ)
Camp Sister Pats / Columbia University Medical Center (NY)
The New York Botanical Garden; Family Picnic (Bronx, NY)
Englewood Public Library (Englewood, NJ)
Eastchester Green Day Celebration and Summit (Eastchester, NY)
Japan Day 2009 at Central Park(NYC)
Abrons Arts Center (NYC)
14 Street Y / Japanese Parenting & Family Center (NYC)
2008
The New York Botanical Garden; Holiday Train Show Open House (Bronx, NY)
Columbia University Medical Center (NYC)
The New York Botanical Garden; Kiku Exhibition (Bronx, NY)
New York Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
Nippon Club; Needle Felting Class (NYC)
Bank Street School Fall Fair (NYC)
Camp Sister Pats / Columbia University Medical Center (NY)
JCC-Bergen Y; Art Workshop for Special Needs (Township of Washington, NJ)
The New York Botanical Garden; Family Picnic (Bronx, NY)
The Parrish Art Museum (Southampton, NY)
E.H. Bryan School; Weaving Project for the 100th Anniversary (Cresskill, NJ)
Knitter's Guild of Bergen County (Oradel, NJ)
JCC on the Palisades; Senior Art Class (Tenafly, NJ)
SWAN Day (Support for Women's Art Now!) at CRS (NYC)
2007
The New York Botanical Garden; Kiku Exhibition, Holiday, Family Picnic (Bronx, NY)
New York State Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
Nippon Club; Spinning Class (NYC)
Tomorrow's Children Institute / Hackensack Medical Center (Hackensack, NJ)
Camp Sister Pats (NY)
Columbia University Medical Center (NYC)
JCC on the Palisades; Dream Street Camp (Tenafly, NJ)
Green Meadow Waldorf School; Craft Festival (Chestnut Ridge, NY)
Jewish Home in Rockleigh (Rockleigh, NJ)
Hoboken Arts & Crafts Fair (Hoboken, NJ)
JCC-Bergen Y; Art Workshop for Special Needs (Township of Washington, NJ)
New Jersey Japanese School (Oakland, NJ)
Tenafly Japanese Association Bazar (Tenafly, NJ)
Kids-in-Motion (Bronx, NY)
2006
MoMA / PS 1 Arts Center; Summer Family Event (NYC)
The New York Botanical Garden; Holiday, Family Picnic (Bronx, NY)
New York State Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck, NY)
Nippon Club; Weaving Class (NYC)
JCC on the Palisades; Dream Street Camp (Tenafly, NJ)
Green Meadow Waldorf School; Craft Festival (Chestnut Ridge, NY)
Ridgewood Fall Crafts & Art Street Festival (Ridgewood, NJ)
Amsterdam Avenue Festival (Upper West, NYC)
Dwight Englewood School; International Day (Englewood, NJ)
Trinity Lutheran Church; Spring Craft Fair (Tenafly, NJ)
Elisabeth Morrow School; International Day (Englewood, NJ)
New Jersey Japanese School (Oakland, NJ)
Tenafly Japanese Association Bazar (Tenafly, NJ)
2005
The New York Botanical Garden; Momijigari, Holiday, Family Picnic (Bronx, NY)
Bank Street School Fall Fair (Upper West, NYC)
Arts and Craft Holiday Show (Englewood, NJ)
Tenafly Japanese Association Bazar (Tenafly, NJ)
Bryan School (Cresskill, NJ)
Merit School (Cresskill, NJ)
Palisades Center Mall; Japanese Fair (NY)