Jennifer Peterson, founder of the Estelle Center for Creative Arts, has watched a curious situation play out across dozens of fiber art retreats. A group of strangers arrives, and within hours—sometimes minutes—something shifts. The roster of guest teachers at her center in La Veta, Colorado spans the textile and fiber arts world, but the same peculiar trend happens each time. “My favorite thing about hosting a retreat,” she says, “is getting glimpses into the lives of all the fascinating women who attend. They make connections with each other immediately. And I believe those relationships, even if they only exist for that week, propel their artistry as much as the instruction does.”

Atsushi Futatsuya will tell you, with total sincerity, that he doesn’t know how to teach Sashiko. What he knows is how to do it—the same way he knows how to eat, or breathe, or find his balance after a long day. Sashiko is not something he learned; it’s something he simply always was.

Which makes the story of how he became one of the few people in the world teaching traditional Japanese Sashiko to English-speaking audiences more than a little ironic. He spent the better part of his early life trying to escape it.