A Kiss-The-Postman Kind of Day

... or at least kiss-my-dear-husband-who-carried-the-heavy-boxes-into-my studio kind of day.

I'm getting itchy feet, missing my yearly fabric shopping trip in Japan, having put the money into building the new studio instead.  So I was delighted when an order of 42 gorgeous girl's kimonos arrived today.  

Going through the box I was imagining the little girls who had worn the kimonos before, how excited the girls must have been, how pretty they must have felt.  My mind then starts racing with ideas to honour the fabrics in their next incarnation.

Here's a peek at a few of my favourites....

Some will become jewellery pieces, some will go into the quilt I'm working on and some into a new idea I'm playing with.  But no matter where it goes, each little piece will be treasured for the amazing history that it has had.

Bookcase Tour Tuesday (on a Wednesday) - Child Kimono and the Colors of Japan

"Spring is when the trees and grasses start to wake, even before the snow melts. The light green of fresh, downy young leaves, as well as the soft colors of the flowers that bloom before the leaves bud, are the typical tones of early spring. The yellow, red and purple hues of the flowers then thicken, as the leaves turn to a glossy green. The colors of spring convey all the abundant energy of life."

I had trouble photographing this book for the blog. Trouble because I love each and every page and wanted to take a shot of the whole publication. I bought it for as much of a reference book as for the eye candy. Each kimono pictured is from a single person's collection. Ahhh... how I covet that collection...

Child Kimono and the Colors of Japan is written in both Japanese and English and is part of a series. As with so much in Japanese life, it's broken into the four seasons. For each season the colours worn during those times are pictured, and their origin (often the plant/flower that produces the dye) and significance explained. It also tells of the main children's festivals of the year, the different types of kimono and common motifs.

It's so beautifully laid out and I could happily sit and just flick through its pages for hours.

And for next week, dust off your shelves... I'm giving away a book from my collection - a Japanese paper cuts pattern book. To enter, just join in Bookcase Tour Tuesday next week, and extra entries for those who have already contributed this week and last.

If you'd like to join in, please do at any time (any day as well). Add your link to your actual BTT post for that week (wait until you've posted it) on Mister Linky below. I have a button made, if you'd like to add it to your blog, drop me a line and I'll send the code to you.

Coming of Age

Today in Japan is Seijin-no-hi or "Coming of Age Day". With 20 being the age that adulthood begins in Japan, on January 14th, everyone turning that age celebrates. It's also the best kimono spotting day of the year and all the shutterbugs come out in force. I certainly gave my camera a real workout a couple of years ago when I took these photos along with many more.

Getta, Tabi and Zori

Gorgeous Japanese footwear to go with kimono.

Slowing Down and Kimono Colours

At the time of year when I feel I should be, I need to be, speeding things up, my body is forcing me to slow down. Everything is OK and it will pass with time and then I'll be back on my feet.

As a result, I've stopped listing eBay actions for the moment. Getting parcels packed and off to the post office of an evening after a full day of work is more than I can manage right now and I hate to have anything less than fabulous service in my stores. So I've stripped it down to just Etsy for a while.

One thing I did get done today was to photograph some kimonos for a wholesale client of mine. I just loved the colours, they really brightened my day.

I'm off to Tokyo again tomorrow. I know that sounds exciting, but to be honest, I don't really want to go. I'm hoping this will be the last time I will have to make that trip to see my specialist. I only have four months until I move back to Australia so would like to have medication and stuff sorted for the rest of my stay, or for her to give my regular doctor instructions of how to manage my thyroid.

I am though, determined to conjure up some energy to do a spot of fabric and Christmas shopping while I'm there. I want to go to Nippori Textile Town, to Kincado (I'll be staying in that part of town) and off to a couple of bookshops (one, a full floor of craft books!), maybe an electronics store, maybe a department store, and hopefully to a place I saw a gorgeous present for my new niece that I regret not picking up last time.

While a bit frustrated at not feeling so well, I have also being enjoying some aspects of taking life at a slower pace for a while. Wayne and I had a picnic lunch yesterday and a lovely wander in the park, something we haven't done since... well actually I can't remember. There have been lots of early nights, perfect in this weather with lots of lovely cuddles from dh. If I don't watch out.... I could get used to this!

Behind the Scenes

How I spent my day.... photographing stock ready to start auctions again tomorrow.

An Admission

Hello. My name is Melanie and I'm addicted to vintage kimono fabric. It has been twelve hours since I last bought fabric.

I think I may soon need to seek some professional health! I must buy! I must buy kimono fabric! I need my fix!

I'm not going to add a photo to this post because my small Japanese apartment is chaos! By last weekend, I had it looking like a some-what neat, but short on space, warehouse. Now some of the fabric is draped over the iron board in different stages of becoming bags, some on the sofa in the midst of unpicking, some more, in another pile is on the sofa after a (successful I'm happy to say) experiment with washing and I have today's finds in bags waiting to be sorted.

While I've always loved buying fabric but I think it was a couple of weeks ago that it turned from a slightly obsessive past-time to a full blown addiction. It was then that I went to my first kimono auction. I was nervous. I was concerned that it would be a sterile environment, that it would be very formal and serious and that it would all be too fast for me to keep up with in Japanese. It was none of those. It was so much fun!

The auction house was set out like someone's lounge room. Their was a clean viewing carpet in the middle, with floor cushions on three sides and chairs set up behind that. I had arrived early and so managed to score a cushion right up in the front.

Most items were auctioned off in lots, only the really high end pieces were done on their own. Before the bidding for each lot began, the pieces were spread out on the carpet and we all got to feel the fabrics and inspect the pieces. It didn't take long to get a feeling for the bidding and to join in. People were polite and friendly while bidding. The auctioneer cracked jokes the whole day. The group all knew each other well, and if a piece came out that someone would be particularly interested in, but they weren't in the room at the time, they would call them in and wouldn't start the bidding until they had a chance to join in. At times the auctioneer would be auctioning and bidding on items at the same time.

Occasionally, lots wouldn't even be auctioned, but rather offered to the person they thought would be most interested in them. Myself included. I laughed and chatted with different people all day, oh and bought six boxes worth of kimono and obi!

So you'd think, that after buying that many kimono, I'd be satisfied for a while. Wrong! I stopped into an antique store on the way home and bought more!

I had to wait a couple of days for the boxes to arrive, and I'm happy to say, I had them sorted by the same evening. We now have what we are calling my "Wall of Fabric". The fabrics are residing in large clear plastic containers, packed carefully with bamboo (sustainable) charcoal (to get rid of musty smells) and moisture absorbing stuff, all sorted into types and eventual destinations. I just love looking at them all. I have three containers of unpicking to do, and it has been a great excuse to sit down and watch a dvd or two while I unpick. I find unpicking rather soothing. I imagine it's the same way that some people feel about knitting, which as hard as I tried, I never got the hang of.

Somehow though, the more I look and touch and play with the fabrics, the more I want. I bought another nine kimono today! I'm really going to have to start selling more to support my habit. That, and to make some room for more.

Japanese Textile References

On the weekend, in the midst of a horrible cold that won't go away, Wayne and I dashed into Nagoya. Partly because there were a few business things I needed to buy, and partly because I needed some cheering up from a head that feels like its going to explode.

I found the most gorgeous book to distract me from how I'm feeling.

Its English title is; Child Kimono and the colors of Japan Kimono Collcetion of Katsumi Yumioka

The book has over 200 pages of the most scrumptious pictures of children's kimono AND it's written in both Japanese and English! I have seen many gorgeous kimono books here, but they often leave me wanting for more - more information, as I can't read them.

A lot of the information is about the dyes, the symbology of the colour and the plant used to create that colour. It's really interesting stuff. What really hooked me in though was some of the information about certain motifs. I'm learning gradually about the symbology of motifs used in Japanese design, but I want to learn a lot more.

Please excuse the photo quality of the pictures, I snapped them quickly, but I thought you might want to see inside this gorgeous book....

Japanese Plum Pattern

Carp Pattern

I have long known that the carp is used as a symbol of strength in Japan due to the way it swims upstream, but this book expands and says;

"Carp was once believed to be a spiritual fish and
even today is considered a symbol of a successful career, based on a Chinese
legend in whish a carp jumped over the Dragon Gate in the rapid current of the
upper Yellow River, transforming into a dragon as it leapt. The legend
gave rise to the phrase "toryu-mon" (gateway to success), which was used in the
olden days to describe difficult employment tests for government
officials. Another legend recounts how a carp is the king of 360 kinds of
fish with 36 dorsal scales; this carp then transforms into a dragon with 81
scales on its back. In Japan, a dynamic pattern of leaping carp is drawn
on a boy's kimono in celebration of the birth of a baby boy, in the hopes of
securing his good health and success. The patterns of carp streamers are
applied on windmills and banners used in the Boy's Day ceremony."

Hifu and Michiyuki

Shidare-yanagi iro (the colour of fresh leaves)

While I was at the bookshop, I couldn't resist also picking up the latest edition of Kateigaho International. I discovered this magazine in my first few days in Japan this time around, while on my honeymoon in Kyoto. It is published quarterly and is a lush magazine on Japan's art and culture. I had a subscription for a while, but recently let it run out. At the moment, I make sure I get a copy from the bookstore, but when I return to Australia, I'm going to have to sign up for an international subscription - I'm addicted. One of the features in this edition (Summer 2007, Vol 16) is "The Inside Spin on Japan's Textile Traditions". It has some beautiful photos of different traditional dyeing techniques, including my favourite, indigo.

Indigo, Japan Blue; Lafcadio Hearn wrote of Japan as being a land where the very air was blue and; "...the little houses under their blue roofs, the little shop-fronts hung with blue, and the smiling little people in their blue costumes"

The magazine goes into the history of indigo in Japan as well as many of the printing techniques such as kasuri and shiborizome.

Ahh... now all I need is to get over this cold and find some time and then I have some great reading to do with a cup of tea.

What is old is new again

Today Mummy Mel and I were invited to attend a Kimono accessorising day at a beauty salon. As some of you may know, most Japanese can't actually put on a kimono by themselves and so will go to a professional to be dressed. Most of these dressers are in hairdressing salons. The concept of today's event was that people could bring along their kimonos and obis and be shown how to accessorise them to bring them up to date with the modern kimono fashion.

Sadly, our timing was off, so we didn't get a chance to see anyone being dressed today. It did give us time however to chat to the owner of the salon. Kimonos themselves are very expensive pieces of clothing. A furosode kimono with long sleeves which is worn by unmarried girls and women can cost into the tens of thousands of dollars. Because of this, they can become family hierlooms and be passed down generations. To be up with the current fashion, it may not them be reasonable to buy a new kimono. The easiest way to update it them is with the under-collar and the obi and its accessories. Stand-alone collars can be bought and slipped in underneath the kimono collar. I have seen some really funky ones recently and have tried to think of a way of incorporating them into everyday clothes. I've seen some great ones with black lace, worn under a dark red kimono (my personal favourite combination) they can look very Victorian.

I took a close-up picture of this obi styling. You can see that the kimono and obi themselves are quite traditional. At the top of the obi, there are two scalloped shaped pieces. These are a new brilliant idea by the salon's owner. They have been made with antique kimono fabric and sewn onto a board of hard plastic. The plastic is them inserted into the obi and the item instantly updates the whole look. She sells these pieces with matching collars.

Around the middle of the obi is a thick fabric cord. This is known as an obijime. A broach has been slipped through the obijime. The stylist and owner of the shop is Mami Ichikawa. Once she gets her website up and running, we'll put a link to it on this site.

While there I took some other photos of kimonos and accessories.

Kanzashi

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I had a great, though very busy time. I had family come to visit, firstly my brother and his wife and then my cousin.

I thought I'd do today's blog in honour of my cousin, Danielle. She's a very talented jewellery designer whose work is strongly influenced by Japanese designs. While she was staying with me, we managed to fit 20 hours of shopping into a 48 hour time period. I kid you not! It was funny, I realised how much I've learnt about kimonos and their fabrics when I took her to my favourite second-hand kimono haunts. She even suggest that I start running vintage kimono buying tours.

One thing she fell in love with while here are the Japanese hair ornaments, known as kanzashi. They are so delicate and sweet. Knowing her taste, I had already bought her a book on how to make some of them.

The kanzashi are usually worn with a kimono or yukata, but look great with any outfit. We also saw many made into brooches and hanging ornaments.

A geisha wears kanzashi that would not only be co-ordinated with her kimono and obi, but would also reflect the season. You can see below a close-up of a geisha's hairstyle below.