Family’s Japanese-inspired fabric gift wrap hits a home run with new fans (and an iconic American baseball team)
April 25, 2025 | Taylor Wilmore
At the intersection of heritage and innovation, a Kansas City family business is pitching a new way to gift, through vibrant fabric package wraps that carry both meaning and intention — even catching the attention of an unexpected collaborator: Major League Baseball.
Keiko Furoshiki — a Kansas City brand crafted at the creative fingertips of Japanese-American artist Keiko Kira — blends centuries-old Japanese furoshiki culture with modern sustainability and style.
Its signature product: multipurpose, reusable gift wraps printed with original art designed by Kira.
“We brought these wraps to the U.S. market in a way that’s a little more bright than traditional Japanese or reusable brands,” said Andrea Zoellner, who co-founded Keiko Furoshiki alongside her husband, Tyler Lau, and mother-in-law, Kira.
“Ours are bright and whimsical, a little bit more daring,” she added.
Keiko Furoshiki’s Red Flowers design; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
Revenue from those daring designs is popping this spring after Keiko Furoshiki saw online sales for the first quarter of 2025 hit a 200 percent increase over the previous year thanks to residual interest from holiday exposure, Zoellner said.
“People came back or purchased for the first time for Valentine’s Day and Earth Day in greater numbers,” she explained. “We also had a trade show in February that provided a small wholesale bump, and we’re now stocked in five more stores, including in Hawaii and Alaska.”
Click here to shop Keiko Furoshiki online and here to see where the brand is stocked in stores.
Keiko Furoshiki’s custom yukata (a casual, lightweight style of kimono robe) designed for the Chicago Cubs’ MLB season opener in Tokyo; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
But the biggest financial boost, Zoellner said, has come from corporate gifting and custom furoshiki (a traditional Japanese style of fabric-wrapping gifts or other items in a way that combines function with visual elegance).
Perhaps most notably, Keiko Furoshiki just wrapped a deal with the Chicago Cubs baseball team making custom furoshiki and yukata (a casual, lightweight style of kimono robe) for the MLB season opener in Tokyo in March.
“When the Chicago Cubs reached out to collaborate on a special cross-cultural initiative … we were thrilled to bring their vision to life,” Zoellner said in a blog post detailing the project.
Freelance art director Kirsten Goede joined the trio to design and coordinate the effort, which saw the Cubs’ custom VIP furoshiki gift packages — half sent to Tokyo, half to Chicago — come to life as memorable keepsakes for supporters at home and abroad.
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Only 275 limited-edition yukata robes — featuring a bespoke Cubs print and manufactured in Kira’s hometown, Beppu, Japan — were gifted, exclusively to Cubs players, staff, and high-level VIPs.
Click here to read more about the collaboration with the Chicago Cubs.
“The sight of Cubs players donning these yukatas upon their arrival in Tokyo made headlines across the sports world and beyond,” said Zoellner. “This type of attention not only honored the Cubs’ host country but showcased how sports organizations can use design and intentional collaborations to make a meaningful impact on the global stage.”
Keiko Kira, Keiko Furoshiki; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
Collaboration rooted in family
Tyler Lau, Keiko Furoshiki; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
Andrea Zoellner, Keiko Furoshiki; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
Founded in January 2023, the business was born from a natural combination of skills. Kira, an accomplished fine artist, leads design; Lau, also the founder of Function House, manages manufacturing; Zoellner handles marketing and sales.
“The three of us together, we really kind of hit all of those points: story, tradition, manufacturing, marketing,” Zoellner said.
Zoellner first discovered furoshiki wrapping on Instagram.
“I thought it was beautiful, it was Japanese, and it had this cool print on it,” she said. “It was a really cool project for me.”
Kira’s background includes years teaching at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Johnson County Community College. Her fabric designs are inspired by traditional wagara patterns and the natural beauty of Japan’s seasons, which are a personal reflection of her cultural heritage.
Keiko Kira designs for Keiko Furoshiki in her studio; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
Tradition meets sustainability
Used in Japan for centuries to wrap gifts, carry items, and even store clothing, furoshiki is more than decorative, it’s an art form grounded in sustainability.
“They’ve been using fabric for a really, really long time. Part of it is just practicality,” Zoellner said. “This is one of those things that, historically, teaches us about sustainability. They just had to make do, using textiles that already existed, plastic wasn’t invented yet!”
RELATED: The ultimate guide to ordering custom furoshiki: fabric, hemming, and printing explained
Keiko Furoshiki’s White Tulips design; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
Keiko Kira, Keiko Furoshiki, works on a new floral design in her studio; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
Born in Beppu, Kira moved to the U.S. as a teenager to study fine art, eventually earning her master’s degree in fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her aesthetic is shaped by Japanese iconography, natural forms, and personal memory.
“The pale pink and lime greens of spring, the blue hydrangeas of the rainy season, the blue of the sea, and the shape of the mountains, they all inspire her palette,” Zoellner said. “She’s very talented.”
Click here to see Kira’s tutorials on how to tie furoshiki.
Each Keiko Furoshiki wrap is crafted from recycled polyester and printed with original artwork. The trio’s debut Garden Collection draws from Kira’s childhood memories and her late mother’s love of flowers.
“Her mother passed away when she was quite young,” Zoellner said. “All these memories of her mother just cultivating these beautiful flowers and having a great appreciation for them. … The first collection is bright, colorful, and hopeful.”
Keiko Kira, Keiko Furoshiki; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
Kansas City-based, community-backed
Tyler Lau, Keiko Kira, and Andrea Zoellner, Keiko Furoshiki; photo courtesy of Keiko Furoshiki
Though their reach is expanding nationally — and now internationally — Keiko Furoshiki’s heart remains firmly planted in Kansas City: a place Kira found deep support among the city’s growing Asian American creative scene.
“It’s really sweet because Keiko’s new to business, even though she’s in her 60s. Everyone’s like, ‘You’re online?’” Zoellner said. “But the community here has been really amazing.”
Zoellner describes a “network of movers and shakers” helping build momentum through local events, cultural markets, and mutual support among entrepreneurs.
The brand’s mission also aligns with a growing awareness around sustainability. With Americans generating more than 4.6 million pounds of gift wrap annually — much of which ends up in landfills — reusable alternatives are gaining traction.
Click here to follow Keiko Furoshiki on Instagram.
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Taylor Wilmore
Taylor Wilmore, hailing from Lee’s Summit, is a dedicated reporter and a recent graduate of the University of Missouri, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Taylor channels her deep-seated passion for writing and storytelling to create compelling narratives that shed light on the diverse residents of Kansas City.
Prior to her role at Startland News, Taylor made valuable contributions as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian newspaper, where she covered a wide range of community news and higher education stories.
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