made with love

Today my copy of Peppermint magazine arrived in the mail. In the past I've unfortunately lucked out on getting my hands on a copy as they sell like hotcakes from the newsagents stands. Avoiding the same fate for this issue I went online and subscribed.

And what a beautiful magazine Peppermint is!!!

In this issue, myself and 14 other crafters and designers contributed to the article Made With Love: the world of DIY. Tess Curran pieced together a beautifully written article that brings together the thoughts on cyber community, sustainability and crafting with conscience. It's a great read!

Here is a list of those who were featured in the article

One Red Robin
Rourke & Henry
Red Seed Studio
Anna Laura
Betty & Hamish
Love, Janie Lou
Jellygnite
Lark
Betty Jo
Dear Fii
Two Cheese Please
Tabitha Emma
Old Yarns: reclaimed linens
Philos-o-face

Justine Telfer also gives a great interview about the role Mixtape has had in raising the profile of the DIY craft movement. Another great read!!

postcard collection

Postcards collected from Colobockle.

marble sud

Marble Sud was a beautiful shop I found in the back streets of Jiyugaoke. They pride themselves on selling original handmade items, supporting both designers and crafters alike.



I ended up purchasing this patchwork purse made by local crafters The Teachers.

tiny sqaure cakes recipe book

Tiny sqaure cakes recipe book: isbn978-4-391-62541-7
Tiny cheesecakes recipe book: isbn978-4-391-62160-0

prêt à voyager

Prêt à voyager is a sweet travel blog written by avid traveller, designer and photographer Anne. I'm particularly fond of her post on French patisseries!

tiny cheesecakes recipe book

Along my travels in Tokyo I bought the most beautiful tiny cheesecake recipe book, the styling and images are amazing! Wait till I show you the Tiny square cakes recipe book!

lili scratchy

Lili scratchy, a visually delicious blog! I like it, alot!

cikolata

Upstairs from Cocca I discovered a small exhibition from a textile designer Cikolata.

cocca

Cocca, the most amazingly beautiful fabric shop. Tomorrow I will show you what I found upstairs!

so... what about the fabric?!

Good question! What about the fabric?!

Well, for me personally I found that the majority of fabric was already available to me in the patchwork shops in Melbourne. Although cheaper, I do buy my fabric wholesale here in Australia for my own business Sew Your Own.

After visiting quite a few fabric department stores I decided that I would only buy fabric that was extremely new to me and desperately worth having. That said the few places that did sell exquisite fabric were expensive by the metre and would only sell by the metre. Again, another agonising decision was made to buy or just enjoy the inspiration rather than paying the big bucks to ship it home. I decided to take the inspiration!

So, what I did find were some very beautiful and off the beaten track fabric stores all of which were very happy for me to take photos to show you!

So, the first gem of a fabric/craft stores that I discovered was Merceria Pulcina in Daikanyama.





And this is what I bought... some beautiful contact paper!



Stay tuned for some more fabric store gems!

sneak peek

more kawaii

How adorable are these postcard photos from Dudley Redhead!

so much to share

I arrived back from Tokyo today, I was sad to leave but arrived back full of inspiration and sore feet. I discovered so many beautifully styled interiors which I hope to share both photos and details over the next couple of weeks.

My only regret is that I never visited Tokyo earlier in life! Damn flying phobia!

P.S. (The kids program flyer above from the tokyu department store has to be framed)! **Kawaii**

more card collecting

yokocho gallery

Today I hoped on a train and headed for Kichijoji and found after a little exploring of the lane ways and back streets some beautiful little independent shops and galleries.

One such hidden treasure was Yokocho Gallery, it was the tiniest little shop full of beautiful handmade work and artwork. The lady who served me was very friendly and she recommended I go to the shop gallery cafe which was in the same district but hard for her to describe where but as luck would have it I ended up finding it by chance.

logos gallery

Another discovery hidden in the Parco 1 basement level was the Logos Gallery, where I happily stumbled upon a Marini Monteany exhibition!

mint designs

I discovered Mint Designs on the basement level of Parco 1 in Shibuya, the whole basement level is definitely worth visiting. I'll be posting more of what I discovered there tomorrow!

orange you lucky

I've just noticed that sweet and talented Helen Dardik from Orange You Lucky has kindly offered some 'free for you' bookplates for her readers! Ahhh, they are so good!!

Image credit: Orange You Lucky

bowerbird

Here's a glimpse of some of the free brochures and pamphlets I've been picking up along the way!

kokeshi

This morning I went to a Japanese Salvation Army store, it's only open on Saturdays from 9-1. It was much bigger than I expected in fact it was like a mini version of the Camberwell markets. There was a big selection of ceramics, kimonos and bric brac.

This is what I walked out with (*^-^*)

Wooden Kokeshi Doll $3.75
Thermometer ('cause even one needs one of those)! $3.75
1 x very large blanket (shall be posted back by sea) $12.50




I will be posting directions and tips to all my favourite hot spots when I return!