May 23, 2021
Sheffield, England – As peals of laughter echo from the busy workshops above, Nozomi Project founder Sue Takamoto pauses, smiling as she hands me one of the latest pieces in their new jewelry line.
“They’re always laughing about something,” she explains, referring to her small, all-female team of artisans. “They have so much fun together.” In their modest headquarters in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Takamoto and the Nozomi team turn fragments of tsunami-broken pottery into beautiful jewelry. Creating work for those left without in the wake of the disaster, the Nozomi Project is a place filled with memories, but has its eyes set firmly on the future.