Megumi Watanabe

I was born and raised in Japan, where I first learned the basics of woodblock printmaking in year 4 of school. Yes, carving and all. By 12, I was pretty good at carving wood.

At age 18, after finishing high school, I moved to New York City. I studied dance at Broadway Dance Center for a while, moved to Seattle to attend a community college, then decided to study graphic design back in NYC. ​After 3 years in Graphic Design major at Fashion Institute of Technology (The State University of New York), I left FIT with an Associate Degree. My first job was at a streetwear brand Triple 5 Soul as a womenswear graphic designer, which was the beginning of my career in the fashion industry.

​Over the course of about 15 years, I have worked as a full-time and freelance graphic designer for many brands such as Zoo York (NY & Australia), Burton Snowboards, Nike ACG, Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein Jeans, DKNY Jeans, Adidas Japan, Aèropostale, Rip Curl, etc. This is when I have become more curious about printmaking and participated in some classes at Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and at MOMA.

After moving to the Northern Rivers area of Australia, I became a mum, and eventually started woodblock printmaking again, since it is the least toxic form of printmaking. Realizing that kids in the area do not experience the fun of printmaking at schools, I wanted to provide that to them. So Kitchen Printmaking Club was born. I offer classes and workshops of non (or low) toxic printmaking without the use of heavy expensive equipment and tools everyone can do at home.