Bikkuri - Surprise

Niche Market 2011

2011-03-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest flyer for the 2011 Niche Markets in support of St Giles - see my products at the bottom in the middle.

Luckily I have been accepted to the April and the November markets.

Friday 1st April 4pm - 8pm and Saturday 2nd April 10am - 4pm at "The Tramsheds" Inveresk which are located just in front of Queen Victoria Museum.

I hope to see you there. There is also a facebook group page if you search for Niche - All wrapped Up.

2011 Already....

2011-02-07T17:28:00.001-08:00

The last couple of weeks we have been taking to the road and visiting some great places in Launceston and surrounds for Shopping, Food, Wine and Berry Picking.

Here are my top 10 great places to visit:

1. For a weekend Breakfast by the water -

Stillwater River Cafe Restaurant and Wine Bar
2 Bridge Rd.Launceston TAS 7250

This place has great coffee and food and the service is A1. After Breakfast go upstairs to the Mill & Providore for some nice gifts and treats.

2. Followed by a leisurely walk either along the Seaport boarwalk or right to the Launceston Gorge - bring your bathers and have a swim in the pool located in the Gorge.

3. Launceston Library - I love this place. Look down the back of the library they usually have books for sale and March 19 2011 is their big book sale at St Albie's Hall

4. Op Shops in Launceston have to be the best ones by far - there are so many.

5. Lilydale is about a 20-30 minute nice drive to buy some great
Goats Cheese @ Yondover Farm House Cheese
Japanese Plants @ The Red Dragon Nursery
Antique & Collectibles Shop in the main street of town
Pick Blueberries Crestview Blueberry Farm Main Road
Leaning Church Vineyard for some wine and great food
Feeling adventurous you may also want to try the Treetop Adventure in the Hollybank Forest

6. On the way to Hobart stop by the Red Bridge Cafe in Campbell Town to try their Tub of Love dip, beautiful bread and organic goodies.

7. Hillwood Strawberry Farm - great day out for the kids picking in season Berries they also have a nice cafe with delicious ice creams, pancakes and a lot of other nice things. Their gift range is great as well.

8. Festivale every February in the City Park Launceston - the City Park is great any day but add music, food and tons of people and for three days it becomes the place to be. Also make sure you check out the Wood Design Centre on the edge of the Park which houses some beautiful furniture and gifts from local Tasmanians.

9. Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery at Invermay, now with a permanent exhibition, planetarium and lots of things for the kids and adults to see, along with the excellent gift shop it has to be one of the best places to spend a couple of hours. Their "Choose" Cafe located in the the Gallery also has very reasonable priced food and never disappoints!

10. The last but not the least favourite thing to do in Launceston and it's surrounds.......is driving to the many beaches close by and looking out to ocean when the weather is perfect (most of the year) and in the winter driving to see the snow at Ben Lomond or to see the majestic Cradle Mountain.

New Made It Items

2010-11-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

I have put some of my products on my Made It Store - Bikkuri. Nice Stocking Stuffers for Christmas. Hopefully I will also have some of my Japanese Kimono Bags on there as well before Christmas.

2010-08-24T20:03:00.001-07:00

Junction 2010 is on in Launceston and they have some amazing spectacles to be seen in Civic Square below are some photos of a felt ball tree and an umbrella tree. Check out the program here http://www.junction2010.com.au

2010-08-22T17:41:00.001-07:00

Another exciting Niche Market is on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th August at two big locations - I will be at the Boathouse...

2010-04-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

Another Niche Market is happening on Friday 30th April and Saturday 1st May 2010 from 10am - 4pm.

This is at a new location - The "Boathouse" - on Northbank (North Esk Rowing Club).

This is to raise funds for St Giles and also to find Mum a special something for Mother's Day.

Come along......

Tom Jones in Lonnie

2010-03-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

Tom Jones in Launceston who would have thought - after a huge down pour of rain I thought Josef Chromy's vineyard would be underwater but funny enough the rain stopped the sun came out and it was a perfect day for a great concert.

I know he is 70 and all but boy can he move and the crowd loved it.!!

Went and saw Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D - really good and the pace of the movie is very quick so no time to get bored - the 3D effects were great the song by Avril is quite good check it out....

Trip to Japan November 2009

2010-01-13T17:33:00.001-08:00

So we had a great time in Kyoto Japan for our 2 week holiday last year and took a lot of photos - don't you just love digital cameras.

Here is my favourite place Uji:

This area is famous for a number of things - one being their famous Green Tea production. Said to have the purest water and best soil - the Green Tea here is said to have the best flavour.

There are many places to buy the green tea but I followed the many local people to a shop which was on the way to the famous Byodoin Temple. Here I purchased some Green Tea products including Green Tea Kit Kat, some delicious melt in your mouth green tea shortbread with green tea filling and some green tea hard boiled lollies with green tea powder inside all packaged beautifully.

The next thing to enjoy in Uji is to follow the path of the "Tale of Genji". The area surrounding Uji is thought to have been the setting for the famous "Tale of Genji" by Lady Murasaki. Long bridges, beautiful river and surrounded by mountains. I have since ordered a copy of this book to read the Tale after visiting the area.

The third the beautiful Autumn leaves.

Byodoin Temple - this temple well worth the visit and is also famous for appearing on the Japanese 10 cent piece. The Temple has a fabulous Gallery showcasing the artifacts from the temple which is now one of the oldest standing buildings in Japan.

So if you find yourself in Japan and have some time - put Uji on your list of places to visit.

I was inspired to visit Uji after reading Paul's Travel Pics blog.

Niche Market in November

2009-12-07T22:02:00.001-08:00

Niche Market in November 2009 was another very successful and enjoyable couple of days. Here are the photos from the Utas Academy of the Arts Events Website.

Here are a couple of pictures of my stall.

Niche Market Promotional Flyer

2009-11-05T19:53:00.000-08:00

Just received the new flyer for the Niche Market in November which I am happy to be a part of. That's my Japanese flower necklace bottom right on a silver pendant.

Monkey for Party

2009-10-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Finished my first Monkey Tutorial from here for my daughters friends Birthday Party. It is made from Vintage Japanese Silks and up-cycled pure Wool Material. They call theirs Molly Monkey but I think I will call mine "Sakura" - Japanese Cherry Blossom.

New Website about Japanese Crafts

2009-09-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

Should be crafting but have come across this great site regarding Japanese Craft Markets and Books etc.

http://www.feltcafejapan.com

2nd Niche Market

2009-09-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

So I have been lucky enough to be invited to participate in my second Niche Market being held Friday 27th, Saturday 28th & Sunday the 29th of November in the UTAS Academy of Art's Gallery Space.

I have been so busy making new items for this Market I had forgotten to update my blog spot with the details.

Here is the new blog link for the Christmas Niche Market in November.

Alice in Wonderland

2009-09-21T19:24:00.001-07:00

Excited to see the new trailer from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland - will have to wait until March 2010 for its release date ......love this picture of Johnny Depp oooh la la

Kyoto Research

2009-08-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

I heard this on a TV show the other day and then found it on You tube - it is such a nice songs so I am adding it to my blog so I remember it - Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah

Now I also watched Twilight to see what all the fuss was about - the music was so good - here is one of my favourites Edward Cullen - BELLA's LULLABY / RIVER FLOWS IN YOU

I have busily been researching for our trip to Japan later on in the year and have found some great website to keep here in a list:

http://paulstravelpics.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html
http://www.kyotoguide.com/
http://www.hostelskyoto.com/annex/annex-e.html
http://www.savoryjapan.com/travel/kyoto/nishiki.market.html
http://www.kyoto-machiya.com/eng
http://www.kyoto.travel/index.html
http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/index.html

Besides the travel I have also been researching places to visit that relate to craft in Kyoto. There are some really nice shops - this is the list so far....

Linnet - everything to do with Linen fabrics, threads and they send overseas

Kitano Tenmangu Shrine -On 25th of each month the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine hosts a huge colorful market, Tenjin-san, in its surroundings. Innumerable stalls in the huge market place offer almost everything from plants to second-hand kimonos, foodstuffs to antiques and old ceramics to Japanese dolls. This market has been an ideal place for bargain hunters, photographers and is an elegant display of Japan’s rich culture and antiques.

To-ji Temple -On 21st of each month - also known as Kobo-san, this mega temple market offers everything and is extremely popular; go early, especially if on a weekend or a national holiday; 7:00-16:30 - Tō-ji is located in Minami-ku near the intersection of Ōmiya Street and Kujō Street, southwest of Kyoto Station.

Kyoto here we come

2009-05-10T23:34:00.000-07:00

After Jetstar's amazing deal pay for one ticket and then get the next one free for a friend - we jumped at the chance to return to Japan in November.

This is one of the best times to visit as it is not only very nice clear weather but it is also the fall season when all the trees change colours.

It is also a perfect time to add some more Japanese photographs from our last trip.

On our way to Tokyo from Osaka on the Shinkansen - Mt Fuji in all of it's glory.

Favourite Castle in Japan - Himeji Castle, where you can climb each storey to the top and then look out over the city. You can also wander the grounds and through the other building on site. Right next door is also a lovely garden where you can stop for a traditional green tea ceremony and sweet.

It's not every day you see a geisha and a business man taking a trip through the streets of Arashiyama - a beautiful town, a train trip from Kyoto. Another place if you are into craft is the Chiri-men Craft Museum or if you like English click here

This was taken just before you get to Den Den Town in Osaka - we were told it was for the Elections that were coming up very colourful and very noisy procession - but at least it got our attention.

Lastly a picture of Hachiko and a rather funny Japanese person who put their dog underneath - this is the most popular spot for meeting friends in Tokyo - the only problem is that there are so many people waiting it would be hard to find them anyway - Here is the story....

Nestled amid hoards of harried commuters, a variety of shops and department stores, and a giant television screen that covers half a skyscraper, a life sized bronze statue of a dog can be found at Tokyo's busy Shibuya Train Station. Despite the diminutive size of the statue in comparison to the massive neon flash of the city, it isn't difficult to find. Millions of Tokyoites have been meeting at the landmark since 1934 and continue to do so today.

Chu-ken Hachiko (lit. the faithful dog Hachiko) was born in Akita in 1923 and was first brought to Tokyo in 1924. He and his owner, Mr. Eisaburo Uyeno, were inseparable friends right from the start. Each day "Hachi" would accompany Eisaburo, a professor at the Imperial University, to the train station when he left for work. Upon returning, the professor would find the dog patiently waiting, tail wagging. This happy routine continued until one fateful day in 1925, when the professor was taken ill on the job and unfortunately died before he could return home. Despite the fact that Hachiko was less than two years old at the time, the bond between dog and owner was strong. Hachiko continued to wait each day at Shibuya station for a friend who was never coming back. At times, he wouldn't return home for days at a stretch.

The Akita became a familiar sight to commuters as he kept his vigil for over ten years. On March 8, 1935, Hachiko finally went to meet his master. He died on the very same spot he last saw his friend alive.

So now back to planning our next trip.

Niche Market

2009-05-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

The weekend has come and gone and I have had a great one. After doing the Niche Market for St Giles for two days in the University of Tasmania's Art Gallery at Inveresk surrounded by some very nice things and people here are some photos.

Organiser Selena from St Giles pictured on the left

Another exciting thing is that soon my rings will be available in a gorgeous shop in Hobart called Love and Clutter located at 31 Murray Street and Jodie Campbell MP even bought a kimono belt off me, at first I wasn't sure if it was her but after seeing all the photographs now I am sure - I will now have to watch Parliament time to see if I can catch a glance at it!

I am always interested in other people who make things from Japanese materials and I have found the most beautiful pair of shoes from a designer by the name of Hetty Rose. Wow these are so nice starting price from 290 pounds, better start saving.

The also had coin purses just like I have been making since last year for 50 pounds -wow!

Why do weekends go so fast?

2009-04-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

After going to a Beautiful Wedding on Saturday afternoon, which played some really nice songs including this one by Newton Faulkner - Dream Catch Me so nice ..... , I logged on to check some emails but as usual I got side tracked and started looking at places to visit next time I go to Victoria in August. I came across this Shizuka Ryokan website which is a traditional Ryokan, built in Daylesford - Spa Country.

On further investigation I came across this recipe on their site for Japanese Green Tea Shortbread which were absolutely delicious.

Then closer to the city in Collingwood there was a Japanese Bath House with all the traditional setup and in the same area their is a place called CIBI which I definitely have on the itinerary.

New blog a bit slow

2009-04-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well now that I am up and running with my new blog I have already let it fall to the waist side after a very busy Easter break I am getting all my products ready for the Niche Market. Here is the brochure for the market - that's me on the top right hand side.

Whilst in the process of making some items for the market I got a bit distracted when I saw this site House on Hill Road and then had to make the Twirly Skirt pattern for my lovely 4 year old for a wedding we are going to on Saturday. It is very Twirly.

I also came across this classic Motown song by The Contours "First I look at the Purse" very cool and appropriate as I am in the middle of making my Kimono Purses!

Well back to it....

The land of the rising sun....my inspiration

2009-04-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some gorgeous photographs that my hubby took on our recent trip to Japan

Nara - I could have sat here forever

Once a year the monks of the temple of 1000 lanterns in Nara go around lighting every single lantern for their festival -truly spectacular

Kiyomizu-dera - wow this temple was build on the side of a mountain, made from wood and was absolutely amazing!

So that got me thinking - after returning with a large amount of Kimonos and Obis which I could not stop buying at the fabulous markets we went to in Tokyo and having them fall out of the cupboard back home every time I opened it, I thought how can I turn these beautiful materials into something I could use. I didn't think walking down town in my Kimono and Getas would be the go so I came up with these.....

Lovely silver plated deep welled rings with a small piece of lovely silk inside - every one is different due to the Kimonos having such rich colours and unique designs - hence the name Bikkuri which means Surprise in Japanese. I currently sell these on etsy under the shop name isabellapoppi, I know your probably thinking this does not match. Unfortunately I created the name of the shop on Etsy before I found out you can't change it oops.

Then I thought what about hair slides - everyone has hair - what about earrings - everyone has ears and so it went on.

My next market will be at the Niche Designs Market Niche All Wrapped Up which is on the 2nd/3rd May 10am - 4pm at the Academy of Arts Gallery, UTAS, Inveresk - this is to raise money for St Giles .