Simple black and white

After focusing on the vibrancy of the obi fabrics for a while, I have decided to return to the more subdued colours of the tengui fabrics that I love.

Tenegui fabrics are something I discovered soon after moving here and was intrigued by. They are lengths of fabric that are sold throughout the year, but become more popular in the summer when they are used as head bands, napkins, or as gift wrapping for a present. There are hundreds of variations on design and colour, many of them depicting typical Japanese scenes or foliage. I love the fact that each of these pieces is also hand printed in the traditional technique. 

Needless to say, I have a rather large selection and am looking forward to making more clutch bags like these. The bottom one combines tenegui with a gorgeously simple coral pink and grey striped obi. You can see them here.

Material Girl

'I Am a Material Girl.' by Carimateo

My scissor print coin purse was just featured in this gorgeously juicy Etsy treasury. Click on any image to find out more.

Tomodachikitty $13.50	idiopix $13.95	CityChicCountr... $20.00	KarenGriskaQui... $25.00
cheekyleopard $14.00	GandGPatterns $8.00	fabricshoppe $30.00	OverlyCrafty $4.25
landofoh $5.75	AllAboutTheFib... $7.50	denuartigekat $5.00	thestockroom $65.00
imaginefabric $24.95	hullaballooloo $8.99	sinclothing $18.00	frenchfwries $15.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio

London calling

This year is a big year for London, with the upcoming Queen's Jubilee in June and then the Olympics in August. With this in mind, I recently designed a group of London designs for Makower UK and here is the result. I'm looking forward to making some coin purses and cosmetic bags out of them, so watch this space.....

You can see the whole collection here.

Printing Grounds

By now, it's quite evident that I love bold print and I love bold colour and when I came across these products by Printing Grounds, I swooned! The designs are beautifully simple, yet use bold prints and juicy colours to create stunning items for your home. Each design is hand screen printed onto a cotton/linen mix using an environmentally friendly, water-based ink. I want it all!

You can check out more of their lovely work here.

Pin it

I bought this safety pin fabric recently and love the fresh turquoise and white colour story as well as the simple layout of the print. I decided to make it into a coin purse and to pair it with a fab green and white dotty lining as a pop of colour on the inside. I think it would go well with the button print cosmetic bag, to create a nice little haberdashery story and a perfect place for all those smaller items that need a home.

Sexy Specs

I just added this juicy pair to my Etsy store - I love the vibrant colours and have added a shot of colour to the linings too. You can find them here.

It's a hoot!

I couldn't resist buying this owl print recently from one of my fave fabric shops here in Tokyo. I love the combination of colours and decided to mix it with a pink and brown polka dot lining. It has now been made into a little make up bag and can be found on my Etsy store here.

Cottonfield

I went to one of my favourite fabric shops today - a shop called Cottonfield. It's in the lovely area of Kichijoji, which is about a 20 min subway ride out of Shibuya and has a lovely selection of little streets to wander around as well as a beautiful park with a lake in the middle. The streets were heaving today as it was the height of the blossom season and everyone was out to view the trees in the park and celebrate the coming of spring with a blossom party.

Cottonfield has a wonderful selection of printed cotton fabrics from around the world, as well as a wonderful ribbon and bead shop across the street. It's a feast for the eyes for any crafty person but can make one hysterical with the amount of choice that there is. Needless to say, I scurried away with some purchases - a selection of juicy ribbons to play with. Now I just have to decide how to use them.