keibunsha, a kyoto destination

today was rainy and grey, and after a nice yoga class this morning, i had a cozy restful day inside. but last weekend, i finally made it here, to the mecca that is keibunsha. keibunsha is an art and design bookstore, in a building with a lovely dark sprawling interier, with several rooms of zakka, stationery, accessories, clothing, and a small gallery space.
i'd read about keibunsha before, and its' wonderful reputation is completely deserved. i'll definitely be adding it to the kyoto shopping section of felt cafe japan, but since i've had to put that project on the back burner temporarily, i wanted to share it here.
the shop is a little out of the way and quite far north from the center of kyoto, a few blocks east of ichioji station.

their website is all in japanese, but here's the zakka page, from where you can click around (on the photos, or on the main menu on the left side of the site) to see some beautiful things.

goodies that my friends bought

last weekend when i was showing my friends around kyoto, we managed to fit in some shopping, (easy to do in japan). here's the haul. good thing they love tenugui towels, muji, stamps and masking tape almost as much as i do!

independent designer events, seattle and toronto

are you in seattle?

check out design shoppe, the one night only pop up show of JOIN:Design Seattle, which features work by local designers, and benefits join and nest seattle.

or perhaps you are in toronto?
bookhou will be at the one of a kind show which runs from nov. 26th through dec. 6th, along with many many other designers.

little by little

i've been slowing recovering from a broken foot, and today the rehabilitation specialist at the hospital gave me my custom made insole, which means i can wear sneakers! and put a little weight on it (along with my crutches). since it's still a bit swollen, i couldn't fit my injured foot into the sneakers i already owned, so i was pretty justified in buying these new ones from muji, where else! i'm looking forward to this week being easier and easier than last.
and, at the shopping mall, there was this display of photovoltaic panels. yes, i realize it's a bit of a jump, but it is design related....apparently now that the japanese law allows people to sell energy back to the grid, solar panels are becoming popular. pretty cool that they are so commonplace that you can see them in the mall on sunday.

city stimulus event in seattle

the talented folks at piano nobile are hosting a studio sale next weekend (july 17th and 18th), and i wish i was in seattle and could go! they've invited a wonderful group of local artists and designers to participate; you can see all the details and information about the guest artists here.

and, it's part of seattle's city stimulus event:
this week and this coming weekend in seattle, you can save money and support local businesses by taking part in city stimulus. all you have to do is go to the city stimulus website, sign up (it's free), they will email you a membership card (also free) and then you show the card to get discounts at local independent stores and businesses in seattle. see, it's easy!
another fabulous local shop that is participating (20% off in store purchases) is bluebottle art gallery, which is already dedicated to supporting local artists and designers.

selvedge shop open in london

i first discovered selvedge magazine earlier this spring, when i was shopping for magazines to read on the long flight to japan. it's a beautiful magazine, and i am absolutely sure that their new shop in london will be filled with equally lovely things.

tamar mogendorff

tamar mogendorff is one of the artists i discovered in selvedge, a magazine i mentioned last week.
she made all of these soft designs pictured here, and some are for sale in the selvedge shop as well.

one more amazing portland shop: olio united

olio united was one of the best finds during our one day tour of portland. olio united is a wonderful shop that showcases ethical and socially responsible designers, many of them local to portland. it's also a very well curated shop, that spans a wide range from fashion to housewares to paper to jewelry.
this folded miso bowl is made by portland's pigeon toe ceramics. so pretty!

sweet necklace by portland jewelry designer, appleseed designs.
and of course i fell in love with the felt bags by feel design, also from portland!
you can see their other bags on sale at olio united here.

if you are looking for the new best showcase of independent designers in portland, i think it may just be olio united! and on top of that, they have a great commitment to ethical craft and supporting local artists. AND, you can shop online from their website! does it get any better than that??

portland recap part 3: shopping

here's a little peek inside the lovely garnish store.
owner and designer erica lurie creates her own line of very pretty clothes, and also does custom work. i love this little framed example of fabric swatches.

while we were wondering down alberta street, we also visited bolt fabric and next door close knit (how great is it to have an independent fabric store and yarn store next to each other!), ped x shoe store (i am a sucker for campers), tumbleweed (with kids version grasshopper next door).