A walk to Ikenoue

It's finally cooling down which makes for the most perfect weather for strolls with cameras. Around 3pm I decided to head off looking for photos and ended up in some charming little backstreets in Ikenoue.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

P.S I'm hosting a workshop on Sunday night (20th October) at Wrapple in Shibuya. Hope you can come along!

Lately in Tokyo - September and October, 2013

Crafting away for Martha Stewart Crafts Japan.





There's a little Hello Sandwich x Martha Stewart Crafts Japan display at Entre Square store in the AO building in Aoyama. Please check it out if you have time.







My friend's exhibition at No. 12 Gallery in Komaba.



Delicious obento at the Tokyo Art Book Fair.





The Hello Sandwich booth at the Tokyo Art Book Fair.



As usual, I was up the night before printing and stapling my new zine together. This one I made with a friend. We stayed up for 24 hours and took one photo an hour to a set theme.


James explains our new zine:


Sometimes drifting through time’s gentle currents and eddies you’re able to watch, as if moving past motorised dioramas in a papier mâché cave, life actually happening. The collective construction of the present. Minuscule moments of habit. We wanted to mark with a keen eye the details of one day as it’s assembled. For twenty four hours, these were our lives as we lived them.






I also made a few craft collage kits to sell at the Tokyo Art Book Fair.









Pompom socks!



Soooo cute!



Multi coloured manicures and handmade skirts.



'Intense pegging' (as referenced by one of my instagram followers) after losing my $50 polka dot Castle and Things pillow case.


FLORAL CUP NOODLES?!! JAPAN!!! I love you!



Sophie et chocolat. Cuties.



Meetings at Sophie et chocolat's super cute studio.



Outgoing mail.



How great is this embossed stamp punch!



The closing party for Violet and Claire before it moves shop to Kyoto.



These days my meetings look like this.



Invite some friends around for homemade onigiri.



Trying to be healthy.



Rooftop obento lunch breaks at work.



I really just wanted ramen.



There has been some crazy beautiful action in the sky lately. A rainbow over Shibuya.



From my balcony.





Watercolour sky from my balcony.







So fun to be a workshop participant for a change!





The WORLDS BEST stamping station in Tachikawa!







Sunsets in Ginza.







Camera shopping and stationery shopping with friends in Ginza.

Hope you're having a lovely start to the week Sandwiches!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

New Lullatone EP!

Today a new Lullatone EP was released today!!! You can imagine just how happy this makes me!



Download 'Falling for Autumn' here.

Lullatone thinks it might make a nice soundtrack for:

•    introducing more layers into your wardrobe
•    discovering an impressive collection of acorns
•    watching a cup of hot tea steam up a friend's glasses
•    riding bikes when it is way way too windy
•    choosing a rake over a leaf blower
•    switching from iced coffee to hot coffee
•    eating too many persimmons, sweet potatoes and chestnuts
•    "smelling nature"
•    walking slower than usual

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

October Hello Sandwich Japan Craft Workshops!

Hello Sandwiches!

Here are the details for the upcoming Hello Sandwich Craft Workshops. I hope you can come along!

I will be travelling to Niigata for a workshop in the rice fields! I am incredibly excited to visit Niigata and spend time at cute Merry go round.


MERRY GO ROUND WORKSHOP!


Handmade Notebook Workshop
27th October
11:00 - 13:00 and 14:30 - 16:30



オーストラリア人の　キュートなアーティスト　ハロー サンドイッチさんが Merry go round に　やってきます！ 今回は　ママさんに限らず　どなたでも参加できる　イベントです。 お友達を誘って　ぜひ　遊びにきてください♪ 　

ハンドメイド クラフトワークショップ　 by Hello Sandwich

日時：2013年 10月27日（日） 　　

　 ①11：00～13：00　②14：30～16：30

場所： こそだて英語サロン 「Merry go round」
定員： 10名 / 回
参加費：2,000円 (要予約)
対象： 今回は、ママさんに限らず、どなたでも参加できるイベントになっています。 　 　　 　＊キッズスペースに限りがありますので 　　　　 　
お子様連れの方は、お早目にご予約くださいね。

For more details please check here.






WRAPPLE WORKSHOP!

Hanging File Workshop
20th October
18:00 - 20:00

Do you remember my post about when I went to the opening party of Tokyo's amazing new craft store, Wrapple? Now I will be hosting a workshop there!

日時：10/20（日）　18：00～20：00
講師：HELLO　SANDWICH　

HELLO　SANDWICHを講師に迎え彼女がデザインしたオリジナルペーパーハンドバッグを一緒に作りましょう！マーサ取り扱いアイテム数日本一の売り場から、お好きなパンチと、店内にあるペーパーとリボンを購入頂ければどなたでもご参加頂けます！

講習費：2,000円（材料費別途）
別途　hutteのドリンク300円　1ドリンク制
日時：10月20日　18:00~20:00
定員：10名
会場：WRAPPLE（渋谷PARCO PART1 4F）
講師プロフィール　HELLO　SANDWICH


For more details please check here.

I hope to meet you at one of the upcoming workshops.


P.S. In November I will be hosting a workshop in Nagoya!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Nikotama BBQ Party!

Nikotama BBQ Party!







Tamagawa is a river a little over 10 minutes by train from Shibuya. It's a perfect place for relaxing walks, picnics, bike riding, fishing and playing xylophones. Under the train tracks there is a little designated BBQ area. When I was living in Sydney I used to see albums on facebook of all my Tokyo friends having summer BBQ parties and I was so super jealous and desperately wanted to move to Tokyo and join them. Yesterday was my first chance to personally experience a Japanese BBQ thanks to our friend Hiroshi who arrived at 9am to secure a spot.

My first Japanese BBQ experience was extremely different to the usual 'Barbies' I've experienced in Sydney.  Upon arrival we were ushered down a row of witches hats, read a series of rules such as 'Don't swim, don't light fires, don't play music'. Naturally the rules were read in Japanese and I joked to my friend that he was saying 'Don't instagram'. About twenty minutes later my friend asked 'Did he really say no instagram?' ha ha.

The first group we encountered upon walking in was a gathering of youngsters screaming and laughing while pushing and pulling each other and drinking directly from bottles of wine. Next, was a team of three guys walking to the bathrooms, the middle guy appeared to have consumed his fair share of sake and wasn't able to walk so well. Fortunately, he had the help of his two slightly more sober friends whom he put his arms around in some kind of six leggered race style.



After phone calls for directions we finally found our group of friends who luckily weren't drinking wine directly from the bottle. Turns out there are some good things about being over 30.

The boys began flipping various meats with tongs and chopsticks.



Colourful picnic sheets and sparkling wine.





Assessing the sausages.



Our friend Allen is a butcher and bought along 6kg of incredible meat! What couldn't be eaten was later up for grabs in a round of 'Jun ken pon'.



Kind of Enoshima - style?





At 3pm the BBQ area organisers came around collecting our entrance stickers and insisted we all start packing up. In true Japanese style, the rubbish area was a well coordinated neat little corner manned by polite and efficient Japanese men. One basket for cans, one for PET bottles, one for PET bottle lids...







Tamagawa.



The 'only-in-Japan' rental table cleaning system. And why are generic tarps an ugly blue colour in Australia but Tiffany green in Japan! Yet another reason why I love living here.



お疲れ様です！

So my first BBQ experience in Japan is complete!

There is a video of the BBQ on my instagram, too.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Tokyo Art Book Fair 2013

Sandwiches! It's that time of the year again. Come along to the Tokyo Art Book Fair this weekend to visit the Hello Sandwich booth!

I'll be selling the very very last few copies of my Hello Sandwich Tokyo Guide zine, as well as some It's Dots Wrapping paper, some collage packs and a brand new photo zine!



Spray painting the covers for my new zine.

I'll be at the fair on Saturday and Sunday (but not the public holiday Monday). My booth is H16.

Hope to see you there.

You can check out previous Tokyo Art Book Fair events here, here and here.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Shimokitazawa Shopping

Grocery shopping at my local supermarket Ozeki. Can you see those little hanging Autumn decorations? These change seasonally. かわいくない？

At the moment it's time for giving half-yearly gifts to clients so take note of the beer case selection in the background. These come beautifully wrapped to perfection, as only Japanese can do. I really need more clients ;) And how convenient that you can buy alcohol in the supermarket!



Biggest tofu section you will ever see. I always end up sneakily pressing the Tofu because I can't read the kanji for which one is hard or soft (curse you gaijin Sandwich!).







Love Nashi Pears so much. Most vegetables display which prefecture (or ken) they were grown in, so shoppers can be aware of where their produce is coming from. It's so different to Australia where we grow most of our vegetables locally, but in Tokyo it's not uncommon to walk home with an avocado from Mexico, Bananas from The Philippines, Lemons from America and Asparagus from Australia.



Fruits and Vegetables keeping cool(ish) from the crazy Tokyo Summer heat.



Living in such a cosmopolitan city like Tokyo you don't often notice 'Asian' things. But this cardboard box stacking scenario is seriously Asia!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo