An art form which dates back to ancient Egyptian times and which subsequently spread to the Mediterranean and Asia, filigree is a delicate craft which has become part of Maltese heritage. This art involves using fine threads of gold and silver woven to create ornate designs which strive to capture the artists’ imagination.

The Malta Independent spoke to Saori Tsuchiya, a Japanese fashion writer who came to Malta about a year ago with two objectives. Her secondary objective was to learn and practice the English language, but her primary goal from the very beginning was to learn more about the Maltese legacy of filigree.

“When I arrived in Malta, I spoke to everyone I could find about learning it. The owner of a filigree shop in Valletta told me that he couldn’t teach me, but he knew of a school.” This was when Saori met Kevin Attard, who offered to teach her the art at his workshop in Sliema.

Kevin Attard, along with Josephine Cachia, has since become a sort of paternal figure to Saori after they clearly saw the passion she had for the craft. “Kevin and Josephine are my parents in Malta. Kevin is a very good teacher because he teaches by showing, not by telling. He always showed me everything and I learn just from watching,” Saori told The Malta Independent.

Kevin and Josephine also had words to say about Saori as their student. Josephine told us with a smile on her face that Saori has proven to be an intelligent and fast learner, adding that they are both very proud of her progress.

Kevin added that Saori seems to have the “faculty of concentration”, which he pointed out is very characteristic of Japanese students, as he has observed in his years of teaching. “What she produces is of good quality too, in fact I’ve taken some of her work to the market as well, and I only choose the best to sell.”

When asked what it was that really attracted her to the craft in the first place, Saori took on a feminist slant saying “I searched on the internet and most people I found were men due to the hard work that it takes. I was interested in it because it was mostly a male dominated culture.”

That being said, Saori also took on a kind of diplomatic position to filigree saying that, after finding a “second mother country” in Malta, “My first priority is that I want to inform Japanese people about Malta using filigree.” Another goal being to open her own business in Japan selling her work as well as Kevin’s.

Saori then walked us through her journey with the ancient art. “The first part was learning very basic things, small round pieces called ‘nuccalijiet’ in Maltese, which is a very basic pattern. I really enjoyed it ever since my first time there so my initial course just continued and extended until now.”

Of course there were some frustrations about her initial limitations. “The first time I couldn’t design, just make basic things. My first product was a pendant top and then I made a simple ring. After some time I mentioned to Kevin that I wanted to design and make my own jewellery. My most difficult thing to do was a fruit-motif necklace. It was so complicated! Balancing it was so difficult, but I’m very proud of it.”

Speaking of her life in Japan prior to coming to Malta, “My job is as a fashion writer, so when I stay in Tokyo, every day I see accessories - hundreds of pieces.” This has a lot to do with Saori’s ability to visualize her pieces before they are complete. “It is not difficult to see the different pieces. The first thing I see in my brain is everything completely finished. I just think of making what is in my head. First I sketch something and think about balance and size, and then I make it.”

Crafts and art have always been part of Saori’s life. “When I was a child, I always made and drew things naturally without thinking or instruction so I always loved making things, especially crafts. When I make things, my brain focuses and it becomes clear.”

Indeed she also linked how she felt about the Maltese artform to the Japanese tradition of ‘do’. “Japanese culture has a lot of ‘ways’ called ‘do’. For example, ‘archery-way’, ‘tea ceremony-way’, ‘flower arrangement-way’ … everything ‘way’. This is ‘craft-way’ for me. In Japanese, if I had to create a word it would be ‘tezukuri-do’. This means that crafts are connected to my mind and me as a person.”

Saori’s work is currently being exhibited in Valletta at Palazzo de la Salle in Republic Street along with work by other artists including her teachers Kevin Attard and Josephine Cachia. There will also be work by Christian Muscat, Sean Decelis and Yvette Sciberras. The exhibition is called, ‘Taht il-Gramma’ and will be on show until 27 February.

While interviewing Saori, The Malta Independent also had a chance to speak to two other artists who were just as enthusiastic about their crafts. Sean Decelis, another filigree student of Kevin’s, and Yvette Sciberras, who makes jewellery by using silver thread and semi-precious stones and crystals.

Sean got into filigree after watching Kevin work and, although he wasn’t initially interested, Kevin offered to teach him and now, a few years later, Sean is clearly very into the craft. He described himself as “a very patient person who loves to work in quiet and silence” adding also that he is particularly interested in the design aspect.”

Yvette, a pharmacist by profession, “beads furiously at night” when she has time to spare between her job and her family. She was invited by Kevin to also exhibit her work which consists mainly of Swarovski crystals, pearls and onyx, with a few instances of coral as well.

She spoke proudly of a particular piece she has on display. “I have one thing which took a number of hours to do. It is made entirely of Swarovski crystals and silver with all the crystals interlinked and hand woven. There are over 300 crystals with coloured crystals to accentuate the patterns themselves.”