Japanese tea towel

The Japanese icons print I designed for my Spoonflower shop has now been made into tea towels that can be bought in my Etsy shop.

The icons include kimonos, kokeshi dolls, luck cats, origami birds and pink blossom.

This tea towel is made form a lovely thick linen cotton canvas fabric

The perfect gift for a Japanophile.

Adventures in Japan

The latest Spoonflower design challenge is called Adventure Ditzy Prints and I decided to create a print based on my adventures in Japan. I've included all the things I love about the city including sushi, torri gates and blossom. Which is your favourite?! You can vote for my design here.

You can buy this Japanese fabric by-the-metre in my Spoonflower shop or as ready-made items.

You can also find this print in my Etsy shop on this cute cosmetic bag and matching tissue holder combo.

There's also the option to buy this design as a cute Japanese artwork for the home. It's printed onto a thick watercolour paper and comes gift wrapped - the perfect gift for a Japanophile.

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Japanese icons

 Whilst living in Japan I grew a great appreciation for all things Japanese. This inspired me to design an art print which encompassed all may favourite things from kimonos and geta to sushi and sake, and many more. This illustration is printed onto a lovely thick watercolour paper which you can buy through my Etsy store.

 Alternatively you can buy this as a print in my Spoonflower shop. It can be bought by the yard on a variety of fabrics or you can choose from a selection of ready-made items such as cushions and bedding to tableware and throws.

I also decided to create some offshoot prints, using images from the main design. Mount Fuji is a stunning sight and a great place to visit if you get the chance. I designed this simple icon on a blue background and gave it a big red sun.

In the past, Japanese fans often showed your social standing and were made out of washi paper and painted with traditional images from nature. I chose to decorate these fans with iconic Japanese icons such as blossom, maple leaves and birds.

Japanese origami is the art of paper folding and you can create some pretty intricate pieces. The crane is one of the most popular forms to create and a thousand cranes are thought to bring good luck. I didn't quite create a thousand but I did create a pleasing multi colour palette of cranes on a navy blue background.

The iconic torii gates are found at the entrance to shinto shrines and mark the passing from the every day to the sacred. Their fabulous red/orange colour is said to ward off evil spirits and bad luck.

Japanese lucky cats are often found near the entrance to businesses such as shops and restaurants and invite custom and prosperity. The left paw raised brings custom, the right paw raised brings wealth. A gold cat attracts wealth and prosperity whilst a pink cat attracts love and romance.

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What a stunner!

I've just added this little stunner to my Etsy store. It's a blossom design made out of a gorgeous obi fabric in shades of black, blue, terracotta and gold.

I decided to match the lining to the blue of the blossom on the outside of the bag.

You can find it in my store here.

I was very lucky to be given the fabric as a gift. It was given to me by a lovely old Japanese couple who have a stall next to me at the annual International Bazaar at the Tokyo American Club. They sell modern kokeshi dolls and I bought this little Japanese fella from them last year.

I call him matsuri (festival) man and I think he's so sweet!

New home

I finally feel like I am now happily settled into my new home after a few weeks of nesting! This included having the whole apartment repainted, in a fresh white, with a soft grey for the bedroom. I even got the kitchen cupboards repainted in a very light grey colour. They were a wood laminate before and had a slightly dated feel to them. It really lifts the feel of the kitchen and I'm so glad I chose to have it done.

In the living room I have a lovely charcoal grey three seater sofa and instead of getting a matching two seater sofa, I decided to use two armchairs in a light grey. These two were from Ikea! I love the symmetry, with the chair artwork above to match.

All the Japanese items I gathered over my time living in Tokyo have fitted into my new home very comfortably. The kokeshi dolls above sit on a red lacquer tray, and the Japanese chest below works wonderfully with my modern lamp. 

I managed to gather a small collection of fans when I was in Tokyo.

The red and white one below has been framed and fits beautifully above my white lamp.

I chose grey for the walls in the bedroom as it has a very calming feeling.

My pretty Japanese scenic print looks perfect above the bed.

I even have a spare bedroom! And it's all ready for guests, with a  fresh blue and white ikat-inspired duvet cover. I'm looking forward to covering the bedhead in a similar blue and white ikat fabric. Maybe a little project for when I have a bit more time?!

I haven't shown any pictures of my studio yet as it is in a bit of a state! I didn't quite realise how many fabrics I had until I had to schlep them into my new place.

They will all eventually find a home and then I will post some pictures.

It's countdown time!

Oh my goodness, I just realised that in three weeks time I will be in Tokyo!!!!! How exciting?! It's also a bit nerve wracking as it means that I now have a limited time to get all my bags ready for the show.

I will be selling my wares at the International Bazaar, which is held at the Tokyo American Club on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th of November. It's a show that I have done for the past five years and I love doing it as it means that I get to see old customers, meet new customers and catch up with the lovely friends I made whilst living in Tokyo. Of course I also plan to do a fair amount of shopping and am looking forward to coming back to the UK with a collection of new kimono and obi fabrics to play with. The Oedo antique market will be on while I'm there and it's one of my favourite markets, held in the grounds of the International Forum.

Here's a little taster of what I will be taking to sell at the International bazaar. Each item shown here will be exclusive to the bazaar only. Each has a Japanese influence and most of them are made from tenegui fabrics that I collected whilst living in Tokyo.

 These three coin purses are all in shades of blue and depict traditional Japanese images including a fan and lucky cat on the front purse, storks on the middle purse and sumo wrestlers on the back purse. Check out those buttocks!

 I couldn't resist this panda fabric and gave it a black and white spotty lining. The middle purse shows aikido fighters (I also have a purse made from ninja fabric!) and the back purse has chopsticks and rice spoons on it.

I love this fabric depicting kokeshi dolls. Kokeshi dolls were something that I enjoyed collecting whilst living in Tokyo and I have a lovely little collection of them. This fabric is bright red and has a black and white lining. The purse at the back is a tenegui fabric used for Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day) and has a sweet, simple image of a boy and girl on it. The inside has a blue and white spotty lining.

I have also made some kimono fabric purses and will be mentioning those on my blog in the next few days.

Cute kokeshi

A year ago today I posted about kokeshi dolls on my blog. They are Japanese dolls that were sold to visitors to the hot springs in the Edo period, and are traditionally made of simple wood shapes which are then hand painted.

I recently came across these beautiful modern versions made by Andrea who lives in Argentina. She loves to paint, draw and make things by hand and these beautiful creations combine all three. You can see more images on her Flickr page and you can visit her website to see more of her creations here.

A hint of surreal

I recently came across Rebecca Kemp's work on Etsy and fell in love with its quirkiness. She lives and works in Wales and creates paintings, dioramas, clay brooches and wooden figures inspired by colourful geometric design and a hint of the surreal. I love her use of colour and especially love her Monster nesting dolls. You can see more here. 

Neon Monster Bandit figures inspired by Russian babushka dolls. Five dolls fit one inside the other.

Japanese-style kokeshi doll, painted in modern colours in a geometric design, and donning a blue bandit mask.

Ornamental art blocks painted in bright geometric colours.