Tokyo - Day 4

A big reason for coming to Tokyo was to do the International Bazaar at the Tokyo American Club and today is traditionally the busiest (and longest) day. I got to the club at 8am ready to set up my stall which was luckily in a new and busier place.

I'm so proud of how the stall looked and love how my bags all work together. I also got to see a lot of familiar faces, old friends, return customers, as well as new customers.

The show finished at 8pm and I was ready for some food and something cold and alcoholic to drink. I still hadn't had my sushi fix so we headed to a kaiten sushi (conveyor belt sushi) place in Shibuya.

I loaded up on a massive selection of sushi all washed down with a cold beer. Yum!

Two little Japanese cuties

It's now countdown time until my trip to Tokyo in November and I'm busily preparing. I will be selling my bags at the Tokyo American Club, as well as enjoying a week of sightseeing and catching up with friends. I've just made these two little Japanese cuties in preparation.

This coin purse uses a cotton fabric depicting little Japanese girls in kimonos.

The lining is made form a black and white spotty scallop design.

This coin purse is made from a pretty stylised blossom fabric and has a pink and cream lining.

Both coin purses are in a stunning shade of red and you can find them in my store here.

Tokyo trip - Day seven

It's my last day in Tokyo! It's gone really quickly, but I've managed to fit so much into each day. Today was supposed to be a relaxing day for me, but I still managed to run around. I started the day with a filling breakfast at Ivy Place which is a restaurant almost opposite where we used to live. I ordered a tasty eggs benedict and sat in the sun, enjoying the morning and watching the world go by. After that I mooched around Tsutaya, a book shop with an immense selection of fashion, interior, design, craft books etc which are all gorgeous. I then popped into my favourite tenegui shop to pickup some items, before jumping on the train at Daikanyama and heading to Jiyugoaoka, a town about ten minutes train ride away that has a slightly similar feel to Shimokitazawa. I like the local feel of the place and the quiet bustle of it, but the main reason for going was to visit a lovely little kimono shop there. It's down some back streets and not very easy to find. I was originally taken there by a friend of mine and I was worried about being able to find it, but I did, and the sweet girl who works there was very attentive. It's a family-owned shop and she runs it with her mother.

She left me alone to forage through her boxes of kimono pieces and I came out with some lovely bright designs, as well as some more subdued ones.

After my trip to Jiyugoaoka, I went straight to my friend Jan's to hang out there for the afternoon with some other friends. One friend, Noriko, brought some beautiful obi pieces for me to take home. So kind! You can see them below.

I've spent the evening packing....and panicking!!!! I have so much stuff and may have to take a lot of it in hand luggage..... To soften the blow, I decided to have my last supper at the kaiten sushi (conveyor belt sushi) place in Shibuya.

It's fine to go on your own, which is what I did. People sit in rows and you have your own little area in front of you, with an iPad at eye level.

Order your food on the iPad, and sip your beer while you wait for the food to appear.

Each order comes whizzing along the conveyor belt and stops directly in front of you.

You then have to take your dish off the conveyor belt and if you don't, you get an angry button flashing and ringing at you. Note the picture on the button of an angry little man!

The fish was beautifully fresh and tasted even better when washed down with a cold beer.

Not a bad way to spend my last day in Tokyo!

Tokyo trip - Day one

Well, after quite a while of not posting on my blog, I should have quite a lot to talk about as I am now on my annual trip to Tokyo! I really have hit the ground running, and with limited time to fit in everything I want to do, it just has to be done. I easily found my way from the airport to my new home for the next week, a lovely little apartment in Shibuya found through Airbnb. 

I dumped my suitcases, had a quick shower and then headed out to Roppongi Hills to meet up with my friend Tatsuya to see an exhibition of Takashi Murakami's work. He is heavily influenced by anime art and works on grand scales and in vibrant colours.

After a scrumptious meal of juicy tonkatsu (deep fried breaded pork) we headed over to Blue Note, old school-style supper club, to see the wonderful Kamasi Washington and his band play a mix of jazz, funk soul and all sorts in between!

The evening ended with the obligatory bustle through Shibuya where the hordes came out en masse to celebrate Halloween. It was fun to see all the random costumes but I have to say, I was glad to get back to the safety of my lovely little apartment and the comfort of my bed!

Fabric shopping in Nippori

My last day in Tokyo has been a whirlwind, but a lot of fun. First stop was Nippori for a last fix of fabric shopping. It is such an overwhelming place and I could have so easily stocked up on endless pieces. I managed to contain myself and only bought a few. These will be featured on the blog soon!

I was very tempted to get this fab novelty fabric, but refrained. I'm not sure how it would translate to clutch bags…..

There are many beautiful modern cottons using designs inspired by old kimono fabrics.

These fabrics depict images of family crests which are often printed onto the back of a kimono at the neck or onto a hapi coat.

International Bazaar day two

Day two of the International Bazaar is kicking off and I still have some fab items left. It finishes at 2pm today, so there's limited time to snag an original Cheeky Leopard item!

Clutch bags come in a multitude of vibrant colours.

The small kimono coin purses make a great stocking stuffer and are the perfect size for storing headphones in.

The large coin purses are mostly made from cotton tenegui fabrics and depict Japanese images such as sumo wrestlers and geisha girls.

The large clutch bags are big enough to fit everything in for a big night out and the bright colours work well with a little black dress.

I call the small clutch bags my little gems. They are the perfect size for a night out and big enough to fit an iPhone, keys and lippy!

International Bazaar 2014

The International Bazaar is just days away now and I'm getting very excited! I head off to Tokyo tomorrow and it will be my first time back there in a year. It will be so lovely to see the city again, as well as catch up with good friends and do a bit of fabric shopping. I've already arranged to go to an antique market on Sunday (one of my favourites) and have trips to Tomato in Nippori planned (Tomato is a five storey fabric haven) as well as a visit to my favourite clasp shop in Kuramae.

I'll be selling my wares at the International Bazaar while I'm there. 

It will be held at the Tokyo American Club on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th November. There will be a great selection of items to choose from and it's a fab chance to stock up on christmas presents.

Please pop along if you are in that neck of the woods, it would be lovely to see you!