Senkiya and Sunshine To You Atelier and Shop

Hello Lovely Sandwiches!

How are you? It's getting warmer in Tokyo. The ume are starting to blossom and are so pretty. Springtime is so beautiful here, but at the same time it scares me that we are creeping closer to Tokyo's awfully hot Summer.

Do you remember my friend Sachiko-chan? (I first met her a few days before the big earthquake when I helped her with her workshop. )  Sachiko-chan (Sunshine To You) has had a beautiful little atelier and shop in Saitama for over three years now which sadly will close this weekend because she will move to Hayama . Yesterday I finally went to visit. ギリギリ！

Sunshine To You will be open this Saturday and Sunday, with a little closing party on Sunday from 12pm and you are all invited. Sachiko-chan will also be doing a live performance on her saxophone! If you have a chance, please visit her on her last day in Saitama. She would love to see you.















While Sachiko-chan and I were chatting away, neighbouring architect Nao-san, bought over a box of mikan to share with us! He was wearing woolen socks and outdoor slippers which was extra cute. 









'Sunshine To You' is located in the same renovated house as Senkiya.



Senkiya's owner, Hideyuki-san (pictured right), cleverly renovated his family home to turn it into a cafe / zakka / gallery / bookstore and small shop.



This is what Sunshine To You looked like previously before Hideyuki-san worked his magic.



Hideyuki-san's renovation includes lots of beautiful Showa era glass which I absolutely adore.







There is a real community feel here, with Nao-san's wife, Ryoko-san, working as the chef at Senkiya cafe. I just love her and her beautiful smile.



Also on the same block is a cute little gallery and Otama, a handmade accessory studio (pictured above).



The afternoon visit was filled with sounds of traditional Japanese sliding doors, rattling glass windowpanes, laughter, and my favourite, sounds of Sachiko-chan calling out to 'Ryo-chaaaan' like family.

If you're in Tokyo, please go and visit these lovely and talented people. If you're lucky you can catch the bread man, or the bagel man, or even the massage tent. Access details here.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Kawaii Chika-san's Incredible Studio!

Oh My Goodness today was so inspiring!

My friend Shimizu-chan and I went to Asakusabashi to visit Higashi Chika-san's amazing shop and gallery Le Lieu but we when we arrived Chika-san asked 'Hello Sandwich-san desu ne?' and she gave us a beautiful tour of her studio!!! It's a four storey converted studio building which she shares with her super cute five-year-old daughter and two other creators. At the very top of the spiral staircase is this amazing space which I am so excited to share with you today! I hope you will enjoy this studio tour!



























Chika-san makes these beautiful umbrellas (and parasols) and stunning scarves (below).
You can also see more on Chika-san's website Coci la elle.











Chika-san's adorable daughter and the gallery shopfront.



Sometimes I find myself in situations like this where I have to pinch myself to believe that I-am-in-an-amazing-studio-in-Tokyo-and-they-are-speaking-to-me-in-Japanese-and-I-want-to-live-here-forever!

The moral to this story is that you really won't want to miss a trip to this gallery and shop if you're in Tokyo! Of course this will be in the new Hello Sandwich Tokyo Guide PDF coming soon!

Thank you so much Chika-san for such a delightful day! You're such a cutie!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Tsutaya Daikanyama T-site

At the moment I'm renewing the Hello Sandwich Tokyo Guide PDF and adding lots of cute places I've found since living in Tokyo. I hope you'll like the PDF guide when it's released within a few months. It's a lot of fun visiting new places to include in the guide. Yesterday we visited the new Tsutaya Daikanyama T-site. Oh my goodness this place is incredible!

Bookshop, Magazine shop, Stationery shop, DVD Shop, DVD and CD rental shop, Lounge Cafe, Starbucks, Family Mart, Cute camera shop, Electronic bike shop...It's such a lovely place to spend an afternoon.




In this section customers can listen to any rental CD before borrowing! Some customers had bought their Starbucks coffees from the cafe downstairs and were relaxing with delightful views at the listening stations.



There is a fancy lounge (coffee is ¥900!) where customers can read books and enjoy a sandwich and a glass of wine. Naturally, on a Sunday this place was packed with a long line up to get a seat. On the plus side, while you wait in line customers can browse the menu on ipads which are given to each customer.




Continuing on the ipad theme, when you're in the DVD rental section you can search for your DVD on many ipads located amongst the shelves. Once you type in your DVD of choice you are taken to a screen which precisely locates the exact location of the DVD. Very convenient. Very Japanese. I made a Tsutaya rental card and got four rental DVDs for ¥1000.The great thing is, if you select to return the DVDs by post you receive a small velcro + zipper postage paid pack to simply pop the DVDs in when you're done. And it's free to return them by post. Amazing!



The outside space, even in winter, is enjoyable. But I can't help but think how lovely it will be to dine at one of the restaurants with outdoor seating sections when the weather warms up.






If you bring your cute little puppy you can tie him/her up at mini puppy stations. Adorable no?



If you're in Tokyo and have a spare afternoon, do pop on into the new Tsutaya Daikanyama T-site for a relaxing afternoon.


Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Commune Gallery Shimokitazawa

This lovely little gallery and zine shop used to be 5 minutes walk from my apartment. Now it's 16 minutes since they have just re-opened at a brand new location. But that's okay because I love visiting Miyuki-chan in her beautiful new space. The sun streams in and if you ask nicely Miyuki-chan will make you some curry rice or a hot coffee and you can set up on one of the sunny tables and busy yourself scrapbooking or making other craft.

Commune is a gallery, zine shop, other nice goods shop, gallery, and you can even get yourself a nice cold beer from the cute mini Kirin fridge. You can buy cute things such as stamps, t-shirts, cards, badges, earrings and at the moment you can pick up some nice calendars hot off the press.

While I was there the other day, Kana-chan, one of Miyuki-chan's artists came in and gave me a lollypop! It's just a really nice place to be. If you are in Tokyo, I think you might enjoy popping in. It's a short six minute walk from Shimokitazawa (if you're not familiar with the area best to print off the map first as there are some back streets to tackle) or it's super close at two minutes from Shin-Daita station on the same Inokashira line.

Oh! And I'll be hosting a Nengajo making workshop there in December! I hope you can come! Details to come.

There are only a few spots left for my Pocket Tissue Case Making Workshop at Shibaura House on 17th November. Let me know if you'd like to come and I'll reserve you a spot.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Kawaii Wrapping Materials Book Giveaway

Sandwiches! It's here!

The Japanese craft book I made with two other authors is on sale in a few days! You may have seen the sneak peek video of behing the scenes making.

I'm so excited I can finally tell you all about it.

I worked with an incredible bunch of people. Tachibana-san, Killigraph-san, Shimizu-san, Kyou-san (she has designed patterns for mt tape!) and Boco-chan. Together we made かわいいラッピング素材BOOK.

It' s a book filled with all the cute materials you need to make cute wrapping and comes with a CD-rom with templates for envelopes and boxes of all shapes and sizes made by Killigraph-san. The templates all fit to an A4 sheet of paper so it's super easy to print and if you'd like to make them bigger you can easily enlarge on a photocopier.

The CD-rom also has heaps (some aussie slang) of beautiful patterns designed by Kyou-san so you can print out your templates with patterns. And I made a collection of collages that you could print out on your templates too. One of the collages is a scatter of my craft pom poms and another is a little arrangement of flowers from my local Ozeki supermarket in Shimokitazwa. I thought it could be cute to see these printed on an envelope or mini box.

All of the patterns you see in these pictures (plus many more) are provided as image files on the CD-rom. Together we also made heaps of labels, stickers, seals and sticker strips so that you can print out on sticky back label paper and have fun decorating your packaging! There are hours of fun in this one book!

As I was making the wrapping for the photoshoots I took photographs of the steps and work in progress. These are all shown in the book so even if you can't read Japanese, it's very easy to follow the how-to-make instructions.

Our book goes on sale on 13th October. If you would like a copy you can order one online here.

AND. I would LOVE to giveaway a copy to a lovely Hello Sandwich reader. All you have to do is leave a comment below and I will draw a winner on Thursday 20th October!

Update: Thank you all so much for entering the giveaway and for your super kind words! The giveaway is now closed.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Japanese Craft Book Sneak Peek Video!

Sandwiches! I made a little video from the shoot of the Japanese craft book I made with two other authors. The book will be out in the middle of October - can't wait to show you.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Handmade Zakka & Craft book

I am so excited about BNN's newest craft book "Handmade Zakka & Craft'. I haven't actually seen a hard copy yet - my copy arrives from BNN tomorrow!

BNN says about this book:

With everyday material and a little creativity, you can make fun, original, and cute objects.
This book introduces you cute and easy ideas to make everyday life more colorful!
Learn the fun of creating room ornaments from paper and thread, accessories from felt, the most exciting party items, and picture collections to enjoy with families! Children also love reading this book with you.






The book features craft artists from not only Japan but all around the world. I am so honoured to be a part of this book! Thank you Tomo-san, Mio-san and Chisa-san!（お疲れ様です！）

The book is released on 21st September and you can buy your copy here!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo