My favourite things- Klippan Bruno

Do you know the Swedish Brand “Klippan’? They make high-quality throws and blankets. I had seen these little blankets and soft toys at shops in Melbourne and Sydney before and was thinking “someday when I have a kid, I will buy these.”

Finally the time came with the little one in my tummy, so I went to the shop in Melbourne where I saw these years ago, but I couldn’t find them! They didn’t sell them anymore. I thought I could get them anytime from that shop, so I didn’t even check the name of the brand.

 1 month old Nico

 

If you don’t know the name, you can’t google. I was very disappointed…but how could I give up? I’m such a determined person (and so is Nico now!). Eventually I found a shop selling this brand in Sydney and got these from their online shop ;-) These are a couple of the first things we bought for Nico.

 

11 month old Nico

I always thought that a toddler with a bear soft toy is a good combination. It’s very photogenic :P I was hoping that this bear would become Nico’s best friend, just like his daddy had a snoopy soft toy as his best friend. So far, their friendship hasn’t been built up. Nico prefers the tram guy. Parents can’t really choose their kids’ best friends, can they? But I’m still hoping the time will come.



What is your kid’s best “toy” friend?



With love,

Allie

New colours and designs!

More colours and designs, including wool mixed fabrics. It's time to plan a ski holiday to the Northern Hemisphere and keep your toes warm ;-)

Go to shop>>>>

With Love,

Allie

A taste of Japan - Ichiba Junction

Do you often use an Asian grocer? There are a couple of good Asian grocers near our place, but their Japanese section is pretty small and limited... Japanese things are usually a little bit more expensive than other Asian stuff too. I know the saying "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", but  since lots of Aussies eat Japanese food, I figure that I can still be a "Japanese-Roman" here.

When I was pregnant, I found this online shop "Ichiba Junction" through a Japanese person's blog and orderd lots of Japanese food for after the birthing. (Ichiba means "market".) I knew I wouldn't be able to cook much with newborn baby, and my mum who was looking after me and Paul wanted to eat some Japanese food too. They have lots of ready-made food like frozen sashimi, gyoza, fried fish, fried chicken, croquett (potato cake), edamame, as well as lots of Japanese seasonings, sweets and so on. They can deliver them to you or you can pick them up from their Mt Waverley office and get 3%off.

you can get non-Japanese things too.  1kg of Cheese Kransky was $15.80. 

Another good thing is that they sell commercial size of seasonings and they are pretty cheap! We often use Soy Sauce at our home (Yes, we're very Japanese..)  but if we buy it from normal supermarkets, it's a bit more expensive. (FYI most of the Japanese people buy Kikkoman or Yamasa brand for soy sauce. Other brands taste different!)

Japanese "must-have" seasonings

If you like Japanese food or any Asian food, you should try this online shop! I'm sure you'll love it:-)

with love,
Allie

Latest letterpress items

letterpress coaster (heavy rain) $8.80 

letterpress coaster (forest) $8.80  

Are these too cute for paper coasters?

What would you use them for?

 

 

My favourite things-toy tram

 

you can get this here....

 

 

 

 

Last Wednesday I wrote about my love of trams. Trams are a part of Paul's and my precious memories too. Paul took me to a roof top cinema for our first date, so I took Paul on a “Melbourne Tour” for our second date. Paul asked me why I love Melbourne so much, because he thought Melbourne was not that beautiful, so I wanted to show him his hometown from the viewpoint of tourists! We took a free city circle tram, went to Queen Victoria Market, walked around the little lanes and visited St Patrick’s. 

Melbourne Tour!

 

 

When Paul proposed me, he made a big Goldberg Machine for me (this is a machine that does a simple task in a complex way). When I opened the door to my apartment, this tram started to go down a slope pulled by thread tied with the doorknob and went through a model of the St Patrick’s gate he made. (Well, actually it hit the gate and didn’t go through, therefore the next part didn’t work…) Paul wanted to put our memories into this machine to propose me. 

sorry for the very bad photo...but this was the proposal machine!

 

I really loved this tram (that’s not why I said ‘YES’ to Paul though!) and it was part of the decoration in my room for preparation on our wedding day too…and now this is Nico’s favourite!! He loves moving the tram on the floor (it makes a noise just like an old tram!) but his favourite parts are these people on the tram!! He loves putting their heads(!) in his mouth. He carries around them everywhere, so a couple of people have gone missing (we hope we’ll find them all when we’re cleaning up to move to a new place!) . It’s funny when we sometimes find these guys in a random place like the bathroom, car, kitchen, or under the cot.   He likes this tram driver especially. We call him “Tram no ojisan (middle-aged guy)” . 

 

 

We haven't had much of a chance to take Nico on a tram ride yet, but I’m sure he will love trams just like his mummy...but I hope he doesn't become a gunzel ;)

 

With love,

Allie

 

 

 

Sweet home project 1

We bought our little unit in May. It took a while to find that special place for us and we are still not living there, because the tenant has contract until next January. Now we are planning some renovations for the unit though and that is pretty exciting! I'd like to share the excitement with you, but I will start the story about my old apartment.

In 2009, I bought 1 bedroom apartment in St Kilda East. It was before I met Paul and I was thinking "I might be single forever." Is that something all the over 30 single ladies think about? Living in a foreign country alone can feel a bit insecure.  I always worried about becoming sick or losing my job. Being in Australia, it was also unreasonable to expect to rely on my parents. Buying a home was some kind of insurance for me and I thought "At least I'll always have somewhere to sleep."

I loved the big window

I didn't know anything about buying home in Australia, so I got a buyer's agent. He suggested some places to me, according to my criteria and sometimes took me to inspections. He had some good contacts like real estate agents, a mortgage broker and conveyancer. He collected lots of useful information from the real estate agents before auctions and even made a bit for me. It wasn't cheap (I paid 1% of expected purchase price) and now I feel like I could check properties online myself, but I just needed someone to consult and give me some professional advice.

My favourite kitchen

Anyway I got the place in St Kilda East. I really liked that place. It was close to shops, transport, entertainment (like St Kilda beach and Chapel Street) yet also pretty safe. After I got married, Paul just moved in and we had a great time there. But when we found our little man was in my tummy, we had to think about moving somewhere else. The 1 bedroom apartment was a bit too small for three people.

Then we had some options.
1. Buy a new place and sell the apartment
2. Rent out the apartment and rent another place
3. Sell the apartment and rent another place

tiny little bathroom

Option number 1 was a bit risky because we might sell our place, but might not find a place to move, or buy a place but might not be able sell. Working out the timing for this was also tricky. Without selling our place, we didn't have much deposit, so it was a bit financially complicated too. Option number 2 was also difficult, because we couldn't trust that a tenant would look after our place well enough so that we could sell it later on.

Thankfully Paul's parents offered to rent us their investment property, which was vacant at that time, so we decided to sell our place and rent there while looking for something to buy.

So we decided to sell our precious apartment filled with lots of memories! At that stage, I had the experience of buying a home, but not of selling a home. How do we start? It became our new experience.

I will write about selling the apartment next time ;)

With love,
Allie

Happiness in a mailbox

Did you write a letter recently? I mean really “write”, not “type”. I got a letter from my old Japanese friend a couple of days ago. I saw an unusual colour of envelope in our mailbox - they are usually white and not even called letters, but bills! When I saw that, I got a bit excited, but Nico and I were on the way to Paul’s parents’ place so I put it under the pram. Some people just rip it open to read, but I don’t usually do that especially for these kinds of letters… (if it’s bill, I do.) I patiently waited until we came home and opened this letter with scissors.

this made me really happy!

 Two sheets of gingko leave shaped paper were filled with hand written words. It's autumn time over there in Japan. She moved to a countryside from Chiba (next of Tokyo) a month ago with her husband's job. It seems difficult to find friends there but instead she's enjoying writing letters to her friends when she has time.

She asked me a couple of questions, so I felt like emailing her to answer those questions quickly, but I thought it's more natural to write her back by snail mail so I did. I used to have good collection of letter sets (I had some pen pals in Japan and overseas), but now all I have are envelopes I bought in Japan almost 4 years ago.

the envelope I bought in Nara almost 4 years ago

 I used "kaishi" for the letter. Kaishi is paper to use for Japanese tea ceremony. They put sweets on this paper ( it's a bit like a serviette) and there are so many lovely designs. I sometimes get kaishi as a gift from my Japanese friends, but don't often get to use them here, so I thought this was a good use;) but I feel bad that I couldn't pick any seasonal letter paper for her. Japanese people really appreciate that sort of attention to detail.

This is the kaishi I used

 I went to the post office and sent it yesterday. It will take 4-5 business days until my friend gets my letter and reads all the replies to her questions. Thinking about my letter sitting in her mailbox and making her excited about opening it just makes me happy. I think I'm enjoying this new-old system. Maybe I need to have new collection of letter sets again;-)

Do you write letters? Are you interested in getting some nice collections of letter sets? If you are, probably I can think about getting those for my shop :)

 

with love,

 

Allie

Spring is here!

Spring is here!

Check out our new yellow lace TENUGUI .

We've also made yellow lace CHAIR Zabuton .

These are great for brightening your interior decoration, sewing something new or just about anything!


I hope this lovely TENUGUI will inspire you;)


With love,

Allie

My favourite things – trams

I’m sooo crazy about trams! Does it sound like a boy’s hobby? Haha, don’t worry…I don’t know the names of the models or histories or those things (in case you didn't know, these obsessed people are called "gunzels"). I just love seeing them, riding them and love the cities where trams are running around.

Enoden in Kamakura, Japan

I was always attracted to trams. My family often visited Kamakura (an old town near Tokyo), where my grandpa rests in peace. When we visited there, we always took a little train called "Enoden ", which is a bit like the "96 route" tram in Melbourne to get there (haha, maybe I am a little bit of a gunzel after all...). The Enoden runs on rails like normal trains at some stages and then runs on the street with other cars at other stages of the route. I was always excited about that second part.

Lisbon is such a lovely city!

When I was 20, I traveled to Europe by myself and I really liked Amsterdam, which had a "little town" feel with lots of trams running around. For my second visit to Europe, I chose Lisbon in Portugal, where cute yellow trams are all around. It was an almost unconscious choice, but without knowing myself that I liked trams, whenever I saw a photo of a city with trams I was always attracted and thought “I want to go there!” . My trip to Lisbon made me realise that I really liked trams and soon after that I moved to Melbourne.

Route 78/79 Prahran to North Richmond

I used to live in a small apartment in St Kilda East. On weekdays, the old trams run on route 78/79 and I really loved it! The sound of the bell, wooden doors, lovely windows…I loved everything about it and I felt so lucky to live around that route. I love where I live now, but that’s the only thing I miss in St Kilda East.

I will write a little bit more about my tram love next week with my favourite tram toy (it’s really great!) so even if you’re already sick of my stories about trams, please put up with it ;) Maybe I can turn you into a gunzel too!

the Bendigo Tramways

Oh and if you love trams, the Bendigo Tramways is a must see! When we went there, I was sooooo happy and shivered from my excitement… I wonder if any other girls like trams though!!



With love,

Allie

Introducing : CHAIR Zabuton

 What is Zabuton?

A cushion for sitting on a floor. They are flat, so are comfortable and ergonomic to sit on. You might know the word 'futon'. "Zabuton" is a futon for sitting!


Our CHAIR Zabuton
Our zabuton is for your chairs! We made it to fit in any chair. As you keep using it, this zabuton will become really flat and you can feel more comfortable with it! We make these with our special Japanese fabrics, TENUGUI or FUROSHIKI.

SEE our collection >>>>



Custom-Order

These CHAIR zabuton are handmade one by one, so we have limited stock at any one time. We are happy to do custom orders, so if you want more than two of the same pattern or want a particular fabric from our shop, please contact us to order. We will let you know the leading time and price.  


Why does a chair need a cushion?

I don't like the feeling of sitting down on a hard, cold chair. Don't you agree? You need one of these! Or you might need this to protect your precious chair. Some pants (and sometimes skirts too) have sharp parts around back pockets that can scratch your chairs :( But if you try to use a normal cushion on a chair, it's too lumpy. Thanks to their flatter shape, these are much more comfy :)

Our cushion designs are also very unique and colourful, so these can add a lot of character to your chairs - I think even the most stylish chairs can be brightened up a little! Of course, they can also be used for couches too.


Why it doesn't have ribbons to tie around a chair?

My parents always had one of those chair pads with the ribbons...but no ribbons ever survived. They always became torn or detached by being pulled anyway and I think look ugly in the end. So I always wondered - "Why do we need those ribbons?" These ribbon free chair cushions will make you much happier ;)

I hope you will like these new items:-)

With love,
Allie

Our weekend

How was your weekend? I hope everyone had lovely time and enjoyed the nice weather (at least in Melbourne). We had busy and fun weekend. On Saturday, Paul had to work all day so it was a big day for him and for me (and maybe for Nico too??)

not much Sakura yet

On Sunday, we decided to go to the National Rhododendron Garden in Olinda in the Dandenong Mountains to see the cherry blossoms...but it was too early! It was such a lovely place anyway though and we enjoyed various coloured magnolias and rhododendrons instead of the cherry blossoms. The staff at the gardens said that you can probably see cherry blossoms in a few weeks, but this year's cherry blossom festival is canceled due to the delay of the flower blooming.

rhododendrons in full bloom

we had lunch at Olinda Cafe . This pulled pork BBQ roll was yum!

Nico will be 11 months old soon and recently started to take several steps. He's growing up so quickly! When I'm feeding him these days, I sometimes get a little sentimental and think "Maybe now is the time that I will look back on when I become really old and think 'That was the happiest time in my life'" . Oh well...but I'm hoping that we'll have more happier times even when he gets older!

With love,
Allie

Attractive tenugui world -local TENUGUI

I bought this lovely TENUGUI when I went to Nara with Paul in 2011 and it is one of my "takaramono" (treasures). I love Nara’s TOKAE lantern festival held in August and wanted to take Paul there. During this festival, the town of Nara is lit up with lovely lanterns.

Pretty much everyone who is walking around the town will dress up in summer Kimono, called yukata, during this festival. To get into the atomosphere ourselves, we booked this yukata rental place. She sells antique kimono and her modern mix sense is really gorgeous. I picked a yukata and she chose all the other small parts, including obi (kimono sash) to match and put it on me. I really loved it!

 

 

We had a great time in Nara visiting my favourite temples like Todaiji Nigatsudo and Hase dera. We really loved riding bicycles around the Nara machi area too.

For our memory of this trip, we got this TOKAE TENUGUI. Although I keep this in my drawer now, I used to put this TENUGUI in my glass top coffee table and I really enjoyed it. (Unfortunately I don’t have the coffee table anymore.)

TENUGUI is something you can get at many tourist spots in Japan. Each place has their own original TENUGUI. It’s thin, light and easy to carry… Some people collect all the different local TENUGUI. Last time when we went to Japan, we saw this TENUGUI (twitter) at Hamarikyu-garden kiosk and I nearly bought it!



If you have any plans to go to Japan, I recommend that you check all these local TENUGUI.  Maybe you can become a TENUGUI collector!



With love

Allie

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with love,

Allie

My favourite things – Kangaroo tea towel

Last Wednesday, I wrote about my vintage dress collection. My favourite thing of this week is something vintage too. I found this lovely Kangaroo Tea Towel at Chapel Street Bazaar, one of my favourite shops in Melbourne. One day I saw lovely cushions made with vintage tea towels on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy. I thought I could make one of those, so I went vintage tea towel hunting and found this.

Well as you can see, this never became a cushion. It was too cute to cut with scissors! Sometimes when I see these vintage things, I think they look rather modern, especially mid-century stuff. (I will write about my mid-century love some other time!) This design doesn’t look old at all!

I think Australian people cherish vintage things more than Japanese people. I don’t see many shops like Chapel Street Bazaar in Japan. For example, Op Shops aren't popular at all! As I wrote in my entry about vintage clothing, Japanese people tend to think it’s strange to use something that a stranger already used. I felt the same way at the start, but you know there are so many treasures in those vintage/antique bazaars! Australia taught me how to cherish these vintage things and I really appreciate it now.

Do you like vintage stuff? What was your best find?

 

With love, Allie

Keirou no hi 敬老の日

We have Grandparents' Day in Japan. That's "Keirou no hi　敬老の日" (third Monday in September), literally meaning respect-for-the-aged day. 

We have Mother's Day and Father's Day..so I guess Japanese people thought "Why not Grandparents' Day?" Let's say thank to grandparents on this day this year! We have some new products that are just perfect for grandparents. 

glasses case (gourd)

card case (gourd)

small coin/charm purse (gourd)  

A gourd is a lucky charm in Japan. It's a symbol of prosperity for descendants. Also lucky charm for being hale and hearty. 


My parents will have their first Grandparents' Day this year. Until Nico can say thanks to them himself, I have to take care of some special thank-you presents or a card for them ;) I will probably make a little photo album of Nico for them this year! They will love it :)

With love 
Allie 

Lately..

Our Father's Day at Chadstone Bowling Club - all our extended family gathered at one place and had a great time!

Nico's first 'babycino' at this cafe

Invited to our friend's engagement party - Paul was happy to get heaps of compliments about his new bow tie

And engagement present...plum TENUGUI and tenugui hanger - this cute tag is from IKEA!

After our nephew's confirmation - Paul wore his bow tie again :) he really loves it! Where did we get these gelati? Of course here...

Got an order from my sis in law - ready to deliver!