While it’s true that many of us who live outside Japan love Japanese crafts and stuff, the Japanese themselves are very much in favor of zakka from overseas, particularly France!
Life-styles With French Goods [フレンチ雑貨と暮らしたい] is by Akemi Matsudo [マツドアケミ/松戸明美], the founder of Zakka + and this is her shopping guide around Paris for great French zakka.
Here are some absorbing pages:
French zakka wouldn’t be complete without Alain Gree, an author and illustrator of detective novels and numerous well-loved vintage children’s books (many of which are out-of-print). It was after seeing this that I ordered online a set of postcards with his original illustrations which I’ll show you the next time.
Akemi also shares a few easy craft ideas for metro/museum tickets, paper-box packages and etc.
Bloom zakka
I’ve been thinking about starting a small zakka shoppe to share with you some of my handmade bloom knots and possibly other floral zakka.
For the past week, including today, I’ve been on the knotting board, taking only meal, toilet and stretching breaks, conscientiously creating a few blooms. It was a nice break away from the pc, away from the usual work routine. For the first time, I feel like a full-time craftsman laboring in a workshop. I will continue to assume this role for the next few days.
There is only so much my pair of hands can make. Hopefully the blooms will be well-loved.
Tonight’s last meal for the first day of this week was a buffet in a hotel. Not a huge spread considering the price per person. But so far this restaurant is the only one I’ ve been to that serves beets at the salad bar and rum + raisin ice-cream. The beets were good and so was the ice-cream. It was our first time there with my sis and bro.
Yesterday afternoon while waiting for hub to finish his seminar, I went to a beads shop which I had totally forgotten all this while only to find that it was closing down…last day is next Tuesday. Oh…and this one has lots of beady stuff from Japan. Some good things just have to come to an end. I’ve witnessed several stores (big + small) packing up their businesses here throughout these years and somehow they all happened to be my favorites. Sigh. This one would have been a favorite too. Everything 30% off. I bought what I think I would need.
The magnificent gothic monastery, Westminster Abbey, which belongs to the royal family.
Picture taken on: 19 April 1992
The 12-day ‘European Whirl’ tour started with Paris and this was one of the spots for picture-taking. Why did I include the red/white warning tape into this photo? Hmm…
Picture taken on: 22 April 1992
Longest stay in London
Harrods just across the street and that’s aunty Audrey chatting with my cousin. We prolonged our stay in London after the tour ended. We had to. More family time, sight-seeing and shopping.
A quick snap at the gate. This being one of the few ‘unhurt’ photos after having rewinded (unknowingly) a roll of film and piled new shots onto those previously taken, resulting in over-lapping images.
Picture taken on: 19 April 1992
First trip to Europe
Mum, cousins and me were there to visit aunty Audrey who was living in London at that time, plus we were there to join a tour to Europe. The flight to London was most memorable (aka suffocating) because we were seated in the smoking section! Yah, those days when smoking was allowed on air!
London was the meeting place for everyone joining Trafalgar’s ‘European Whirl’ tour. Our first stop, Paris!
Late Sunday afternoon was a good time to replenish a few knotting necessities. Took less than 10 minutes to buy cotton cords, then it was a drive to a button shop.
This is the same shop that mom used to bring me to as a kid whenever she needed buttons for her custom-made dresses. The shop owner is a very nice and honest lady. If only all shop owners were like her. She sells buttons from Japan only and she told me that some Japanese had bought her buttons to bring back with them to Japan.
I had in mind which part of the shop to browse and since there were mostly familiar designs, I picked one that I have had but of a different colour. When I was ready to pay for the set of 6, a side glance revealed a 25-member strong button family displayed on a cardboard and they look like the perfect candidates for the bloom knots! Lifting up that card, revealed another good card! Happily I put back the 6 and got this lot (except for the stripes which were from another shop nearby).
With hundreds of buttons in that little store, it’s nice to have some pop right in front of you when you least expect, even though I’ve been there countless times. Another big reason why yesterday’s button harvest was a good one is that all have holes big enough for cords.
I didn’t buy everyone in each family, that’s reserved for another round. Happy family will have to wait.
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