What are you reading?

A book called "The Boleyn Inheritance" by Philippa Gregory. I'm into historical fiction right now, and this one is about what happens to the women involved with King Henry VIII. ... It's an entertaining way for me to learn about history.

Are you interested more in the time period or the genre?

I've just gotten into that lately, from reading Sarah Dunant's "In the Company of the Courtesan," which is set in Venice back when the courtesan was regarded differently. I was going to Venice, and I always like to see a movie or read about the place I'm going to beforehand, to learn about it.

Did travel bring you to English history?

No, where I pick up my books also has a lot to do with it, because I don't have a lot of time to go browsing in bookstores. I got "In the Company of the Courtesan" at Costco. ... Then I was at the Red Carpet Club in San Francisco and they had "The Boleyn Inheritance" out for anyone to take.

Historical fiction breathes life into the past; is that similar to what you do, designing modern clothes with vintage fabrics?

I never thought of it that way, but it's true that what I do with the vintage kimonos is make it more understandable or relatable to the contemporary woman today, other than saying, here's a kimono and it's beautiful but you can't wear it. ... So I guess that reading these books — it's the same thing. The authors help you relate to history.