About an hour from Hamamatsu station, nestled behind a row of houses on a quiet street in a mostly residential area, a family tradition carries on - the fastidious weaving of primarily high density plain weave cotton cloth.

The mill is now helmed by Kaori, the fourth generation of the Furuhashi family to manage the textile business started by her great grandfather Tokutaro in 1928. Each successive generation has further evolved the discipline, dedication and increasingly singular focus.

You might call it the road less traveled, especially as small scale family-run mills shudder all around the world. Defiantly choosing not to placate every request that comes their way or chase fleeting trends, but instead digging their heels into something more timeless. This approach requires confidence and real talent. This is one way I define artisan - forgoing the constant pull to be a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none in favor of a more exacting approach.

The scale of their operation feels natural and distinctly positive. The family house is across the driveway from the mill, which employs about 50 looms. Three to four operators walk the floor and manage the weaving, and two people inspect and quality control the finished goods. It is a very human scale; one that feels relatable and tight knit. It's pretty rare to encounter young people working in spinning or weaving mills and feels particularly special through an American lens.

For this spring's editions, we've cut three shirt styles from their signature crisp lightweight typewriter cloth - this version being woven from an organic cotton & hemp blend yarn.