It began with a love of textiles and travel, fostered by her parents. Carol learned to sew by hand at age 6, designed historical costumes for theater and historical reenactment by age 16, and started her first business as a jeweler at age 17. In 2005 Carol launched Kimonomomo as an online supplier of vintage kimono fabrics and sashiko supplies, first on eBay, then Etsy in 2007. In 2009 she added sashiko classes, and continues to teach across the US. She has presented her work at the Tokyo International Quilt Festival on two occasions, both times as the guest of the Tulip Needle Co. of Hiroshima, Japan.
Since 2005
Today Kimonomomo has grown to offer a wide range of hand-selected supplies for the discerning sewist, from fabric in traditional Japanese designs, sashiko thread in a rainbow of colors, and needles for every need. For 20 years Carol has curated our offerings, working with suppliers in Japan, and more recently in the US for our knitting line, Bougie Knits.
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Then comes Thomas
Also known as "The Husband", Thomas runs the business alongside Carol. He manages retail sales here and on Etsy, and wholesale operations over at Orimono Imports.
He picks things up and moves them. Everyday, rain or shine.
Fabric Wizard
Mickey Stockley - She/Her
Mickey is Carol's daughter and has been surrounded by crafts (and craft accessories) since she was born. She wears many hats at KimoMomo, ranging from retail management to building shop samples. You may have seen her dancing on our social media page or helping you find fabrics and notions at our open houses.
If you're looking for a reason to buy that fat quarter or start just one more project, she will happily enable you! Her experience with art of all types goes back decades, but her main focus is fiber. She enjoys projects of all shapes and sizes, but loves blending hand and machine sewing to produce beautiful and functional creations. She is a voracious learner and always looking to research new techniques, fabrics, methods and ways to create.
After earning her AA in Art History and her BS in Psychology, in 2023 she came back to KimonoMomo and dove right in to be the second generation in this growing family business. She enjoys the different veins of creativity that people bring through KimonoMomo and looks forward to maturing with it and sharing that knowledge with those she meets along the way. If you need a little bit of imaginative chaos, sign up to our newsletter for her future workshops!
Knit & Crochet Maven
Jacquelyn Frost - She/Her
Jacquelyn is our project manager and knitting specialist, notably with tunisian crochet and left-handed crochet - check our calendar for her upcoming workshops! To a lesser extent, her repertoire also includes spinning, weaving, historical costuming, craft as tradition.
She started working with KimonoMomo in 2019. A self-ascribed "Jacquelyn of all trades", her background in art, writing, project management, process management, even some light accounting, found the perfect home where her breadth and depth of knowledge can be applied.
As the business grows, she keeps finding things to help with - or learn how to do - which she capably adds to the list all the time. Besides answering customer questions about our knit and crochet products, she helps build our shop process and policies, inventory, and logo/branding design, including the packaging for KimonoMomo branded products.
Reflecting on the team, she has this to say: "We are endlessly creative as a group; each person brings their own perspective to the table and we are champion at working off each other's ideas."
Communications Shepherd
Aiden Strawhun - They/Them
Aiden is an alternative fashion enthusiast and primarily wears Japanese street fashion as their main medium of artistic expression. If it has lace and bows (or eye-searing colors) Aiden is probably wearing it! They often model for Bay Area jfashion designers who frequently use KimonoMomo’s fabrics.
Aiden wears several hats, but their primary focus at KimonoMomo is social media and marketing. Their voice and hands are typically what you’re hearing and seeing on the shop’s Instagram and other social media platforms!
Everyday is a bit different and Aiden loves being surrounded by other creatives at work. Before KimonoMomo, they worked as a journalist for about a decade and went into marketing shortly after.
Photo of Aiden modelling for The Black Ribbon, one of our clients and a local designer, in a piece made using our fabrics!
Warehouse Deputy
Van Tran - She/Her
Over the past decade, Van’s journey through fashion has shifted from an industrial manufacturing POV to a more intentional, sustainability-minded practice. She embraces garments with lived-in histories—mending, upcycling, and altering clothing in a slow, joyful process shaped by wear, chance, and curiosity.
"It is a great delight to be able to work closely with natural Japanese textiles and threads, and to work alongside a passionate, creative team," Van thoughtfully added. Aside from supporting the ever growing online marketplace that is the KimonoMomo shop, Van gets to teach workshops and conduct mending labs in the KimonoMomo HQ space (aka the warehouse) as well as other local like-minded establishments.
Webmaster
Theresa Nguyen - She/Her
Formally trained in patternmaking and sampling, followed by 10 years of working for small businesses from manufacturing to luxury independent labels, Theresa learned that she's happiest whenever she gets to work with her hands, or on a computer, as long as it feels like tinkering. Creativity can live in processes and patterns, and spreadsheets too! She applies the same sense of observation when working in the garden or restoring beloved objects.
She joined the team during our online shop migration from Etsy to Shopify at the end of 2024 and stayed on as the web admin. If you encountered any bugs on the site, let her know!
Having found her people here, she joyfully shared, "Working at KimonoMomo feels like sitting in a stadium, happily drinking your soda, when suddenly a wave forms and you know exactly when and how you'll join in!"